Mauna Loa Helicopters Shaft
Be careful of Mauna Loa Helicopters in Hawaii.
A great bunch of instructors but the management will say ANYTHING to get you to empty your bank account into theirs.
I was one of MANY who was told "If you get your CFI, we have a job waiting for you.
Then once I got that, "Well we really need you to get your instrument before we will hire you"
So now $60,000.00 later with my CFI and instrument rating in hand I hear "Well, we really can't hire you unless you get your CFII so you can teach instrument students and then we are realy to go and make you part of the team here. Your our best student and we can't wait to have you teaching here"
So another $15,000.00 out from my bank and into theirs and finally I graduated every rating that they teach just short of the ATP, which requires 1200 hours anyway so I wait to be hired.
Time passes and still nothing.
6 months pass and I get a e-mail saying, "We regret toinform you that your 6 month has passed since your date of graduation and our company policy states that "After 6 months your no longer in the hiring pool""
Ouch, what happened?
Did the tens and tens and tens of thousands of dollars I spent there count for NOTHING?
A friend who works there said he overheard the owner saying he was not going to hire me since I was too old.
OK, I am only 45 at that time.
I was not too old for them to take all of my life savings and not too old to keep telling me that I was their next CFII.
There are MANY others who got the Mauna Loa shaft so be careful.
In hind sight, I would go with a reputable school that puts it in WRITTING that once completed and graduated we will hire you for XXXXX number of hours as instructor and PIC time and then let you go.
Unfortunately, they didn't put that in writting nor the claims that they would hire me so it is my word against them.
Sour grapes, not just for me but many others.
Be carefull.
There are other flight schools in HAwaii if you need to train here but whatever you do, get it in writting BEFORE you give them al your money.