Cadet courses?

[Gary21]

Hi all,

Just wondering if anyone has any information on a cadet course in Brisbane called Macflite? Apparently they train students from zero to instrument rating and then place them with a regional airline on the Metro for 12 months. I've done the usual web searches and only found a page stating they have changed their name to Jetflite? A friend has worked with some previous cadets and he reckons most of them spent around 12 months on the Metro then move onto various turbine or ME-piston command jobs, and some have even gone on to international airlines (CX etc).

I've been thinking about starting some pilot training and after reading some of the posts here I reckon getting some work on a Metro straight out of training would be a great start to a flying career. I'm planning to give them a call next week but I thought it would be good to hear "the word on the street" first - i.e is it similar to the QF cadet program? Is it well regarded in the aviation community? What airlines do they place you in etc?

Cheers!

[Lab_Rat]

Whoop Whoop wind up, wind up

Or perhaps some serious discussion

[get_over_it]

Does General Alfred Hoziman still have his courses available? Perhaps Gary may be interested?

General?

[jetstar1]

Gary,
Firstly welcome to the prune. I will clue you in before anyone snaps.
Macflite (thats the last I heard they were called) is a training centre for M@cair airlines (queensland based regional doing mine charters and RPT). They recruit 'pilot trainees', train them for 12 months, and on graduation offer them an FO job in a metro. For your satisfaction they will charge you an arm and a leg for the pleasure (around 90K). Don't get me wrong, 12 months on a turbine in the RH seat isn't a bad deal, but just remember they need to make room for the next class to graduate so it won't be long term. I seriously considered this course at one stage but was put off by the money factor.
Aircraft used were Bellanca Citabias for basic training, Mooneys for more advanced navving, and Beech Duchess for the MECIR.
You ask if this is similar to the QF Cadetship. QCs usually spend a year training, 2 years flying similar FO jobs on turbines, then move up to SOs on the heavy jets (ie 744/330). The difference is the end result really and whether you can get a job after your course.
If you get any harsh replies it is because most people on here are sour from chasing turbine jobs for many years, whereas these 'cadets' or 'trainees' waltz straight into them. Don't be offput by them. Good luck. PM me if you need info on the recruiting process.
Cheers

[Gary21]

Thanks for the info jetstar1, I'm finding this a very complicated industry to get a handle on so at this stage it's a matter of seperating fact from fiction - quite happy to take the harsh replies with the good!

[MBA747]

Gary21

Are you naive or badly mis informed? If you do any reading on this site you would fast come to the conclusion going into aviation in Aust. is a gamble at best. After spending anything from 60K to 90K you will have little stability of lifestyle or income.

Aviation nowadays is not what it once was. Pre 1989 an airline career was rewarding, nowadays the costs are high and the rewards few. If it costs 90K for Macflite its just the start. You have to pay for endorsements to fly airlines. For an A320 or B737NG your looking at 40K. Salaries have dropped a lot and are forecast to fall further with more start up LCC's.

Divorce rate amongst pilots is very high, prob amongst the highest for any career. If you still want to fly, get yourself a backup qualification just in case you don't make it. The odds of you making it into the airlines are against you, unless you have some very good contacts. Best of Luck.

[GeneralAlfredHoziman]

Originally Posted by get_over_it

Does General Alfred Hoziman still have his courses available? Perhaps Gary may be interested?

General?

Hello get_over_it (that is a very interesting name, sounds like someone I came across in my childhood province in 1964) and everyone else out there in PPrune.

Boy, it's been a while! First of all I'm very proud that someone remembered the efforts I put into improving aviation across not only Australia, but the world.

For those, such as Gary21, who might be interested in my course please visit our previous discussions:

http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=210328

Okay, down to the serious business. Who wants guns? Ha ha, I made a joke. Gary21, you sound fairly smart so maybe my course isn't for you - I only take pretty smart people. Ha ha, another joke.

I've heard Macflite are pretty expensive but you get some work experience at the end. Remember that these won't be command hours. You need to weigh up whether this is the best option for you, or whether you are better off doing your training with a 'normal' flying school for probably $30,000 less and working your way up.

The final option is to join my organisation - Flight Training for the Gifted (Nigerian Division).

Any questions please let me know

Regards,

Your friend,
General Alfred Hoziman
Flight Training for the Gifted (Nigerian Division)

[rmcdonal]

There was a thread a little while ago about a guy who just finnished his year as an FO after doing a cadetship (however the company name was ****** ) The big problem with that course is that you walk out with about 100Cmd hrs, and thats about it. Some single piston jobs require more experience then that. 900hrs FO on a Metro sounds good, but it doesn't mean much when you're up against a pilot with 600TT 500PIC. The fight at the bottom end is like dogs in a pit.
Good luck

[Gary21]

Thanks all for the (mostly) refreshingly honest replies so far, although I'm still confused! Why would 500hrs command (most likely VFR piston time) be better than 900hrs FO in RPT operations flying multi-engine turbines? Surely this sort of experience is exactly what major airlines are looking for, not VFR tree dodging. Aren't QF perfectly happy placing their cadets in a turbo prop for 2 years to build experience?

[M.25]

I believe that this was a thread started by someone who is just finishing a similar cadet course.
Unfortunately after you finish, even with 1000hrs metro fo, you will not meet the minimum requirements for the airlines, therefore you can't even apply. Metro fo time is obviously a heap better than nothing, but it is a lot of money, and you are probably still going to have to work your way up through GA to build command time once you have finished. You just have to weigh up all of the options.

Single pilot work in the bush can be very challenging - even in single engine VFR aircraft. Just because the aircraft is smaller doesn't mean that the job is any easier or less demanding. (More often than not it is the other way around) A mate of mine recently moved to multi-crew ops and described it as a holiday.

[UnderneathTheRadar]

Originally Posted by Gary21

Thanks all for the (mostly) refreshingly honest replies so far, although I'm still confused! Why would 500hrs command (most likely VFR piston time) be better than 900hrs FO in RPT operations flying multi-engine turbines? Surely this sort of experience is exactly what major airlines are looking for, not VFR tree dodging. Aren't QF perfectly happy placing their cadets in a turbo prop for 2 years to build experience?

It's all about insurance - insurance companies are not interested in FO time where there is someone to pull you out of the brown muck - they want to know you can hack it when there is no-one sitting to your immediate left. QF don't mind it that way as their cadets will build many thousands of FO hours before seeing a command and the insurance companies accept that all of those hours are done under a formal C&T program they have approved of.