FAO Pprune users in this thread,
This thread has recently come to my attention and was quite shocked of what I found. I haven't used pprune in years as in the past I found that opinions are very quickly made from rumours/hearsay etc. And some very decent individuals have had their reputations wrongly tarnished. Now I'm very aware that your opinions of me have already been made and there
will be little difference that this post will make, but I thought it's necessary for me to lay out all the facts. I'll try my best to cover all the points mentioned, so here goes.
1.) There were a couple of mentions about Helicentre Aviation and so this is a point I feel I really must make clear. Fly Siam is NOT a front for Helicentre. Fly Siam is simply and only an aviation broker. Fly Siam is not an operator of any sorts, has no AOC etc. Helicentre is a fine helicopter company with all legal creditations in place like AOCs etc and has been around for a very long time. And because Helicentre is well known for being a good operator, I chose to use Helicentre to fulfil potential helicopter charters or any other form of helicopter flying etc. I'm not affiliated with them in any way, I would just use them to pass on helicopter queries etc. So to clarify, Fly Siam is an independent broker and Helicentre is a fully authorised operator. And I genuinely hope that this thread hasn't caused any bad publicity for them as they don't deserve it.
2.) It seems as though a few of you have googled me etc and found lots of odd connections so let's lay the facts out. In a nut shell, I got my A level results and somehow managed to get in the air force in the pilot branch. I've never been the most academic of types, but I compensate in hard work. Anywho, I was unfortunate and got re roled twice and then eventually found myself in the intelligence community which has happened a lot recently. After a year or so I PVR'd and left the air force as I wasn't happy and really needed to fly. I'm not the best pilot in the world, and not the worst but like all of you here, flying is my passion. I love it and quickly found myself out of the mob with no main income stream and I wasn't flying. So in order to not waste 6/7 years training, I decided to try and convert licences etc and try and become a helo pilot of some sort. Instructor or off shore, I really didn't care. So I got my PPL(H) and started hour building for the cpl as you do and as I got down the line I found out that I could simply set up a broker type company and that by doing this, it would help with becoming VAT registered. And so after speaking to lots
of different pilots, I discovered that everyone had their own 'company of some sort' and one of the things HMRC like to see in order to be approved etc is to see a website or receipts of sales made etc. So I did just that. But due to my enthusiasm or eagerness and commercial type mind, I thought that if I was going to do this, I may as well do it properly, so I got a good website made and started putting the word out there on and offline that I could offer all of these services through brokering etc and earn some form of income which would help with hour building n whatnot. Yes I'm a failed pilot. But at least I've got on with my life and tried to follow my passions. Why does everyone keep rubbing it in my face? People make mistakes and I was young, still am, but I learn from my mistakes and move on. And I'm also of the belief that if you do something, you do it right, so I really wish to do good things with Fly Siam. One of my goals was to one day become an operator in my own right with an AOC/FTO etc. And I'd hire or help out lots of chopped or retiring military pilots as the transition from military to civvy is hard!
3.) I also hope you don't feel like I'm a conman of some sort either due to the different types of websites you've found. Basically, after leaving the air force, I read the book Rich Dad Poor Dad by robert Kiyosaki and that completely transformed my mindset. I realised that in the air force I was simply trading time in exchange for money. And that 95% of the population does that as well. It was really eye opening. And the book shows the benefits of passive/residual/royalty type incomes. So you earn money whether you work or not, just like royalties on a book etc. So I promised myself never to end up in a situation whereby I ever relied on just one income stream. I became an advocate of income diversification and set out to earn at least 5 small income streams.
4.) The websites siamgivesyoufreedom.com and siamshrinksyourbills.co.uk relate to my Telecom Plus part time business. They deliver the UK's cheapest telecoms and energy and for every customer I get, I get roughly £30 one off commission, and I then earn about 3.5% of that customer's monthly utility bill which equates to £5 per
customer per month. So 100 customers = £500 per month. So no, it's not a dodgy scam or pyramid scheme. It's a FTSE 250 company which is the Best Telecommunications PLC 2 years running in the London Stock Market Awards and has dozens of Which Magazine awards.
5.) The website HowNotToLoseYourShirt.com is a very new site which is still undergoing development. It's simply a membership website where one with zero knowledge of the financial markets can learn how to become a competent investor. Yes I have made money on forex and trading in general. But I have also lost lots of money. And that's the main reason for my HowNotToLoseYourShirt.com. I can help people to not make my mistakes and also speed up ones learning. Plus there are a lot of things happening in the financial world at the mo and a non jargon using way of explaining it would help a lot of people.
6.) One of you mentioned that my address of Desborough doesn't inspire confidence. I'm originally from Norwich and have recently moved to the Midlands and that address is simply a logistical move. I figured that if I was going to have any success of doing this aviation broker business, I
may as well relocate with my girlfriend and set up somewhere central and busy. Norwich has a rubbish geographical catchment area and Desborough is great. Half an hour from Northampton and Leicester and half an hour from Helicentre where I was hour building. Plus central to
London/Birmingham/Cheltenham etc. It's also right on the A14 so ideal for when I go back to Norfolk every fortnight! And someone mentioned that it's a very modest area for a forex trader...well the area I live in is very nice thanks and I live in a brand new 3 story house with 4 bedrooms. So for just my girlfriend and I, it's perfect. She gets to have her own dressing room and I get to have a man room/office.
7.) Now in hindsight, looking at all of the stuff this thread has pulled up on me, I was probably over zealous in my marketing. I didn't know what I was doing, it was my first conventional business and so I thought if I used the
ex RAF tag it would help and I just got on with it. I just plastered Fly Siam all over the net, did networking meetings and all sorts and trying my hardest to make things work. I have NEVER set out to do anyone any harm or to try and scam people out of their money and I've never bitched about anyone. Even people that slag me off behind my back. All of my part time income streams are ALL based on helping people. Whether it's helping ones health, saving money on bills, helping people make money etc. Yes I over egged my marketing/advertising etc. And I cringe upon all of it. Very much so! And it's a shame google stores everything! But I'm
always learning and I've played down my air force career for a while now. None of my new friends even know I used to be in the air force. And it's just disappointing to read the comments in this thread because I also believe in Kharma, but I don't think I've ever done anything to deserve this
slating. Just a shame that people love jumping on a bandwagon to put someone down that they don't even know. Well, I haven't got a scooby if this post makes any difference to your views. But if you take away one thing from this, just note that Helicentre has never done anything wrong. It's a fine company and I somehow feel really guilty that they've been dragged into all of this.
Oh well, if you ever meet me in person, please say hello regardless. I'm really not the egotistical Tom Cruise wannabe Walter Mitty I've been painted as!
Anywho, have a good day and happy flying.
P.S. Just read the last post....I have never mentioned I flew with a PPK in a bombed up jet....bloody hell people...