IFTA, going-going-gone....

[lostconcern]

Looks like this once proud company who led the way for the CAA to allow JAA flight training in the USA is about to die, the last aircraft they own are advertised for sale...

from www.macdonaldaircraft.com

DIAMOND DA20 KATANA $54,750 1996 FL



For Sale - $54,750, S/N: 10216, 1507 TT, 0 SNEW, Low time, NEW ENGINE, Digital Radios, GPS, ECONO FLYER only 5 gph, owner wants it sold, Make offer. , 2 Seats
Updated: Dec 14 2004 12:56PM
Scott MacDonald Aircraft Sales [phone] [phone]

PIPER WARRIOR III $104,900 1997 FL



For Sale - $104,900, , 6515 TT, 795 SMOH, IFR, LATE MODEL King Digital IFR, KMA 24, Dual KX-155 Nav/Coms, KR87 ADF, KT-76A Transponder Intercom, Rare Late Model , 1997 Paint, 1997 Int , 4 Seats
Updated: Nov 16 2004 7:40PM
Scott MacDonald Aircraft Sales [phone] [phone]

PIPER SENECA III Call 1981 FL



S/N: 34-8133146, 9400 TT, 2023 SMOH / 2023 SMOH (a bit over tbo ! ) , IFR, 3 blade props, HSI, Air, Radar, King Digital IFR Package, Owner wants sold , 6 Seats
Updated: Nov 1 2004 10:18AM
Scott MacDonald Aircraft Sales [phone] [phone]

PIPER SENECA II Call 1977 FL



S/N: 38832, 5359 TT, 124 SMOH / 1800 SMOH, IFR, King Digital IFR, DME, RNAV, HSI, Dual GS, RMI, Recent Paint and interior OWNER WANTS OFFER , 6 Seats
Updated: Dec 13 2004 2:01PM
Scott MacDonald Aircraft Sales [phone] [phone]

PIPER SENECA I $79,500 1973 FL


For Sale - $79,500, , 3864 TT, 1472 SMOH / 1893 SMOH, IFR, Low time, KING digital IFR, HSI, KNS 80, ADF, KX-155, Priced to Sell , 6 Seats
Updated: Dec 13 2004 2:01PM
Scott MacDonald Aircraft Sales [phone] [phone]


Please note this post is not advertising for them, but a warning that something might be up at this school if they are selling up all their plane, so STUDENT BEWARE.

[newflyer]

According to the FAA, IFTA still have 6 Beech Baron 58's.
N871AN / N872AN / N873AN / N874AN / N875AN / N876AN

[lostconcern]

Wrong IFTA

There are many IFTA's in the USA, this one is located in Stuart Florida, and is a approved school for JAA training under the UK CAA
ie:

N-number : N4121T
Aircraft Serial Number : 2842017
Aircraft Manufacturer : PIPER
Model : PA-28-161
Engine Manufacturer : LYCOMING
Model : 0-320 SERIES
Aircraft Year : 1996
Owner Name : INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT TRAINING ACADEMY INC
Owner Address : 1829 SE AIRPORT RD SUITE A
STUART, FL, 34996
Type of Owner : Corporation
Registration Date : 07-Feb-1997
Airworthiness Certificate Type : Standard
Approved Operations : Normal

This is the warrior above, in the advert...

[Just_Another_PPL]

What about the other 2 warriors and the cessna?

Anyone know?

[flighttime2.0]

I dont see warrior N4122t or c150 N63263 advertised there ..
The school is trashed from the hurricane ! what is happening to captain steven fishers empire ?

[TOM82]

CAREFUL

I went to IFTA, and they still have:

3 PA34s, the PA34 III is not flyable though, because of the last hurricane, they couldn't get it out in time because of some problems.

3 PA28, 4121T, 6879C and 21123, the last one is new at the school, flyes better than the other 2. 79C is somehow faster than 21T. 22T was sold after the hurricanes.

They sold the 760VA cessna to a guy from peru, he then flew it from KSUA to Peru over mexico. Crazy . . The old 63263 is still there.

Be aware that they still are advertising for the arrow and king air, but the arrow was sold in june 04 and the king air thing hasn't never realy been actual, havn't heard of anyone doing the course.

Now the katanas? I've seen one of the two, the same week they sold it, don't know of the other one. They said they had two. ????

Anyone who has been at IFTA knows the Fischers, and no one knows what's going on. I must say of all the students that I went there with, I am probably the only one who didn't get off too bad. I only got a slight delay of a couple of months, 2-3 that weren't due to a hurricane or myself.

If anyone is planing on going, trust me when I say be careful and don't rush in, nor pay the whole thing in advance. I must say that for this school, modular is the better way. Mr fischer doesn't realy plan too far ahead, and he doen't realy pay that much attention to his buissnes. There are many small things that can become big in time, and many things are left for the last minute.

Patience is good to have, and if stuck there you'll need it.

I don't realy want to trash the school, for the instructors are good, plus the area is ok for going to school and everybody is nice. Just management that's poor.

Good luck.

[porridge]

Long overdue, but I'll bet it'll resurface like the Phoenix. Some people in this life seem to be able to come back from nowhere leaving the rest of us poor stiffs up the creek without a paddle (dollar)!

[lostconcern]

Both new warriors you mention seem to not be the Capts anymore, unless he has bought them in the last month... highly doubtful..

N-number : N21123
Aircraft Serial Number : 28-7916027
Aircraft Manufacturer : PIPER
Model : PA-28-161
Engine Manufacturer : LYCOMING
Model : 0-320 SERIES
Aircraft Year : 1978
Owner Name : REGISTRATION PENDING
Owner Address : PO BOX 8702
WILMINGTON, DE, 19899-8702
Type of Owner : Individual
Registration Date : Not Specified
Airworthiness Certificate Type : Standard
Approved Operations : Normal


N-number : N6879C
Aircraft Serial Number : 28-7816437
Aircraft Manufacturer : PIPER
Model : PA-28-161
Engine Manufacturer : LYCOMING
Model : 0-320 SERIES
Aircraft Year : 1978
Owner Name : REGISTRATION PENDING
Owner Address : PO BOX 8702
WILMINGTON, DE, 19899-8702
Type of Owner : Individual
Registration Date : Not Specified
Airworthiness Certificate Type : Standard
Approved Operations : Normal

So if he is selling ALL his senecas, his prized warrior, the last of his katanas ( this one was apparently in 'storage' in Fort lauderdale you will find... aka mechanics liens me thinks) what is left of the empire, apart from a pretty website, and now a virtual school!

Is there any students there are the moment who can tell future wannabes what is going on???

This fire sale cant be doing good for his empire... cant do a CPL flight test in a C150 or PA28( thats if they havent already been sold as per above) now can we!

[TOM82]

6879C was bought around august 03 and 21123 is from sept 04

There are currently students, poor fellows, half are waiting to do their CPL training, 3 are doing the FAA IR and JAA PPL and 3 are doing their ATPL and HB.

The school is still there. As I said, no one knows what's going on, communication and organisation is the last thing they worry or think about, if ever. The two fischer's aren't at the school most of the time, they might come to speek to a new student or for an exam, but you can only guess when they'd come in.

The school hasn't the best reputation, and i don't know why their instructor chose to stay, but I'm glad they did for the time i was there.

I know stephen has been down before and is now with this school. Most of his clients, almost all ab-initios are danes, this says something about their reputation in the UK.

Well good luck everyone.

['I' in the sky]

If it is true that all the aforementioned aircraft are being sold are any of the schools training modules still approved ?

Are they still taking bookings for courses, taking deposits etc ?

[STEPHEN FISHER]

Thanks for the publicity, I have sold at least one of our 11 aircraft as a result of the earlier postings in July!

Reading through the threads it would seem that some people like to make menaces over nothing - I'm sure I know why?

Nevertheless, where does it say I flight school must own its fleet to do well? It is true that as the owner of IFTA I chose to invest over $1m in aircraft - that was my choice in 1997.

In 1997, I beleived aircraft ownership was the right way to go, 8 years later, after 3 major unsettling events (JAA harmonisation,
9-11 and recently, the devastating hurricanes), I consider I might well have been wrong - so I decided to make changes!

I therefore decided (some months ago) to reshape the fleet, I have sold N4122T (interesting someone calls themselves that!), N760VA, N2835D, N696DA.

I will also sell one more Seneca and the remaining Katana.

The company will continue to own at least 4 aircraft (Seneca, Warrior & Cessna) and will utilise leased in aircraft to meet demand. This change will give IFTA greater flexibility as it responds to the market trends in the future.

YES, IFTA is fully approved by the CAA despite the devastation caused by the hurricanes to our infrastructure, and yes, to our personal emotions! Indeed one of our valued instructors lost his home and his car, yet came back work to complete his students training despite the great emotional upheval.As long as we dont get more hurricanes in 2005, I predict a growth year in flight training in the USA - which I am sure IFTA and all it's competitors look forward to.

I'm completely certain that those who like to bash IFTA will be very dissapointed to hear most of what I have said - but they really new all along the truth!! I am also certain they will re-post with more personal and degrotary comments intended on bringing us down - be sure, you won't succeed.

For the good of capitalism, competiton is healthy. Delta getting out of JAA training is not good for any of us - choice is essential, the fewer approved training providers is NOT for the better.

To those who post without anonimity, who have a genuine complaint, if I know your problem, I will promise to communicate with you directly in an attempt to settle matters.

Stephen B Fisher
President
IFTA

[lostconcern]

If you are indeed an honest businessman, how come you advertise a JAA Kingair type rating for which you have no approval according to the UK CAA schools list, and also you advertise a JAA ATPL groundschool also for which you have no approval for according to the CAA list???

[Pinga]

Lostconcern, Please don't ask Mr. Fisher embarrassing questions, everybody who knows/knows of Mr. Fisher knows that he has a completely honest track record stretching from his days in the UK up to the present time! There is absolutely no truth in the spiteful rumors that his business sorties leave trails of disappointed and out of pocket students amongst others. It is wicked to even suggest that he indulges in sharp practices. Everybody who knew him in South Florida is well aware that he ran a completely straight and honest establishment at Naples before moving to his present location. You can further be assured that his posting above is entirely accurate and factual. If you need any confirmation of these facts, just ask him!

I for one am surprised that his honestly run establishment hasn't closed down to enable him to concentrate upon opening yet another honest business venture in yet another location!

Every student can be assured that their money will be safe with Mr Fisher. So far as I'm aware, it is indeed impossible to get him to part with any of it!

The only question which I would pose to Mr Fisher in response to his comment

I am personally aware of those genuine disgruntled few

is: how may hundreds do these amount to now?

[STEPHEN FISHER]

I would like to thank lostconcern & pinga for thier responses.

Lostconcern makes a good point. Our web site content has been overlooked since the hurricanes, we conentrated on looking after our current customers, organising temporary accomodation and on informing our inbound customers that we had survived!

Nevertheless I agree it needs updating as it could be misleading and it will be done shortly.

We informed the CAA of the changes to our groundschool immediately after our our building was destroyed and our CGI resigned. Our approval for ATPL ground was naturally suspended. All enrolled students were completed before the change, and I was delighted that the vast majority did well. Indeed this group will complete thier CPL courses with us in January.

Of cousre, we have not enrolled anyone since that date for ATPL ground.

On the subject of the King Air, this was launched over 1 year ago to test the market. Those customers who showed interest were only offered FAA Part 61 training as we explained our approval was pending with the CAA.

Nevertheless, I agree, that in the eyes of someone who might be less than sympathetic to IFTA, this presents an opportunity to them to bash us, so effective immediately, I am going to withdraw this page from our web - it may take me a couple of days, but it will be done.

Yes it is true of all companies - you cannot be in business and fail to attract your share of critics, that is certanly true of us. No company can boast 100% customer satisfaction because we are only human. I will say again, if anyone still feels they have an unresolved problem with IFTA then email me [email protected] and I will gaurantee to resolve it.

Stephen B Fisher
President
IFTA

[Pinga]

Yes, the Florida swamp alligators appear with nice friendly smiles too!

[My names Turkish]

I've been trying to stay away from this part of the website for a while but this one caught my attention. I don't know the owner of IFTA but from the title of the thread I imagine its title could be quite damaging.

Just wondering out loud here but reading Pingas and Lostconcerns posts I did wonder as to what really motivates someone to write such posts. I wondered so much that I looked back through their fairly brief post history. Just a few that pricked my interest.

Pinga:

Link 1

Link 2

Link 3

Link 4

I notice on link one that Pinga seems to have a post deleted for having used more that one user name in one thread.

Lostconcern:

Link 1

Link 2

Link 3

Link 4

Link 5

Indeed in a similar way that Mr Fisher compared the situation in which the Visa situation was brought up, someone has helpfully brought up the fact that his airplanes are for sale. Indeed in a striking similarity, lostconcern has had more than one post on wether Delta are still approved or not for JAA groundschool. Well if you have a CPL already then you wouldn't need the groundschool, which makes me suspicous as to why your asking. I suppose it was just brought up for the greater good?

Lostconcern also seems to know about flight schools in Malaysia, I knew a guy who had spent a bit of time as a Flight instructor down that part of the world, again funny how a student supposedly trained in the US would have experience of a Malaysian flight school.

I also do wonder why two individuals who would appear to have been flight students in the past would have such knowledge of a companys previous operations in another part of Florida and which took place over a period of, say a year or two? Most students don't have that sort of in depth knowledge. So I wonder are they really students at all?

I wrote this post because I thought it was a pretty nasty shot at someone by probable competitors. The best of luck to everyone, Happy Christmas and New Year.

[lostconcern]

Hello
Dont know who you are talking about in reference to me. But to let you know I have met you and am currently a Irish resident, who, like you loves to troll the web, and point out interesting facts.

See you soon

PS its good to see Capt Fisher setting the mark straight, hopefully I will be there or at EFT this year to do my FI course. Once I save some more money of course. Not all of us out here have the luxury of loans from parents or getting them to be guarantor. So its back to work now.

[Pinga]

Ah, here come the conspiracy theories. You are a mile off M.N.T. I’ve no connection other than as a student and/or renter either now or in the past with any flight school in Florida or any other part of the globe for that matter! My nearest airport is Shoreham, Sussex. Mr. Fisher has like me been around for some time now but I’m not so old that my memory has gone!

[BillieBob]

...and, of course, we immediately believe everything that Pinga and lostconcern say, particularly given the posting history that Turkish so clearly points out. Anyone else notice the freudian slip?

who, like you loves to troll the web

We all know that there is more than one shark in the murky waters of South Florida, don't we?

[My names Turkish]

Pinga and Lost concern, to me your posting history speaks louder than anything I can say. I'm not going to get into a war of words again with anyone, I'm loosing enough hair as it is.

Not all of us out here have the luxury of loans from parents or getting them to be guarantor. So its back to work now.

With the exception of Tony Drapers posts on organized religons PPRuNe doesn't usually get that big a laugh out of me! You'll have to try some much bigger sticks and stones than that. I am not ashamed about who I am or what/where I come from.

But to let you know I have met you and am currently a Irish resident

Fantastic, we should organise a mini Bash. Get together have a few drinks and exchange war stories. Although its funny that I still keep in contact almost weekly with my fellow country men from my Florida Days and your not one of them. Not to worry I'll see you at the bash!