Legitimacy of MALGUS

[Flypuppy]

It would be interesting to know what the connection is between Malgus and Flying Start. The concept seems exactly the same, the geographical location of the organising body is the same. Despite WWW's recommendation something just doesnt seem quite right.

Tell us Andy, what is the difference between this scheme and Flying Start?

[rolling circle]

I was at Oxford when the Flying Start scam was running. The marketing bunch were putting out the same cr@p that BAe are putting out now - "We have been approached by ....... and are prepared to provide training for the appropriate fee". Don't be fooled by the salespeak, nobody is in the flight training business for your benefit, only for their own.

If you have £147 to throw away then good luck to you, but be under no illusions, you will be throwing it away.

***Real cargo doesn't complain - Ever!!!**

[SuperSpanner]

Vref+50 is a very astute individual.

Malgus is an anagram of al mugs.

Next week I will have up my new phone in site where for a fee of £2.00 you will be able to register your name for the opportunity to win an all paid flight training programme. No catches, no tricks.

You may enter as many times as you wish, the charge will be added to your phone bill. It's just like the lottery, but better!

Don't let your ambition get the better of you!

[TomPierce]

Vref+50 has posted an amusing but cynical post. But, in essence, what he says is right.

He makes good points and I quote from his post.

There is no way this scheme is going to run for years and years is there...? There are only about 450 new pilots a year in the UK and they need this many just to send slightly less than one cadidate per annnum.

This is almost true. The ACTUAL figure is ONE candidate goes for training for - every 470 who apply.

Have you sent your £147 yet?

:o

[sammartin]

I've sent my £147, I've booked my trains and I've booked my flights. And I can tell you now - this is the the best chance any of you are going to get in the next 2 years without having to fork out £40000 for a ATPL.

[schooner]

I think it was WWW who mentioned recently that only 600 applicants were prepared to pay the £50 appication fee for the last BMI CEP drive.

.

The reason only 600 applicants were prepared to pay that application fee is because they had been invited onto the next stage of the selection process. I`m sure if 1000 were invited, they would have all coughed up the necessary dosh. The number that actually applied from the off to the scheme was a lot more.
That said, 6000 applicants is a rather large number to shoot for, I would think they would be doing well to get enough applicants to fund one place, if that .

Anyway, good luck to those who do apply, hope you don`t get stiffed

cheers,

Schooner

[RickPhucked]

EnglishPilot I mean 'EnglishwannabePilot' you stupid, you would have a better chance on the lottery, or even playing the horses with your £200+ (cost+expenses), you could even of bought a couple of introductory lessons in flying to see whether you actually enjoy it. But Malgus aren't gonna give you your ATPL, they only been trading 3 months, isnt that strange!!! If you really wanna be a pilot you should apply to the British European Training Course, because at least you'd have a professional decision by an airline whether your a good enough person to employ, and ok you would have to pay £31,000 but im bloody sure that if you showed the bank you're acceptance on the scheme they would most definatly say YES.

[EGDR]

Englishpilot - do you work for Malgus ? because you keep telling us you have booked your place/train fares and you keep telling us to apply before we 'miss the boat' ??????

[sammartin]

Firstly, I already am a pilot with my PPL + Night, so don't patronise me. Secondly, I don't think you should keep putting people off going to Malgus because for people like me who have a genuine determination to get in to the top end of aviation (unlike you lot who can't even spare £147 for the chance), I do not think it is fair. All that you are doing is decreasing the amount of people that would have applied, which makes it harder for those who are applying to get on to this programme. Just keep your mouths shut if you aren't applying, leave it up to us, the people who are keen enough to get into flying, to decide.Thirdly, no, I do not work for Malgus. Fourthly, I have never EVER said "You will miss the boat if you don't apply" - all I have said is I think that malgus should get as many people as possible, to give everyone a better chance.

[Springbok220]

Cut Englishpilot a bit of slack folks. He/ she sounds intelligent enough to weigh up the risks and chances and should be given some respect for making the decision and commitment to apply for the scheme.

I personally have not totally decided, but at this stage, think I will give it a go.

[The Guvnor]

If it's a kosher scheme, then it shouldn't matter how many people apply. Of course, if it's a scam, then they need as many people as possible to take the cash from and run off laughing.

In fact, the fewer people apply, the better your chances of getting selected will be - if it's for real ... so if I was you, Englishpilot, I'd be warning everyone off it!

[Wee Weasley Welshman]

Flypuppy - unlike Flying Start I have been able to speak on several occassions to the man behind Malgus, to his father and to his associates. I have checked his address, his employer and his own training history. I know who he is, what he does and where he lives.

I am therefore confident that this is NOT Flying Start II. Which at first I thought it was. Hence the investigation.

I leave it solely to the judgement of the individual Wannabe as to whether to apply. Judgement is such a critical skill in aviation.

WWW

[Malgus]

Hi all

We appreciate that many of you are scared that we may be running a scam. We're not, I know it won't convince many of you, but we're not.

We do require a large number of people to make our offer valid and if we don't get near those numbers we can't run the offer.

All will get a full refund, and we will go back to the drawing board and to try and see how we can offer our sponsorship offer again and perhaps get more approval for a different offer.

Thank you for all who support and understand us in this hostile environment.

MALGUS

[The Guvnor]

Malgus - can you confirm, then, that the figures provided elsewhere in this thread are correct and that this is merely a 1:470 lottery?

Also, can you clarify what the role is of Scottish Enterprise and what they think they are getting out of it?

Finally, what form of security or escrow account is provided by Malgus Ltd to ensure that all funds will be returned to the applicants if you decide not to go ahead with the programme?

I'm sure that your answers to those and the many other points raised in this thread will go a long way towards settling the doubts raised as to the validity of this scheme.

[The Graduate]

It seems like the thread that I started is causing quite a lot of interest. Can I please ask though for this not to be use for insulting matches between individuals. Please keep the posts aimed at the topic in question. Thanks.

I myself am still not decided whether or not to go for it but I think I probably will. Yes it could be a scam and they could get our £147++, but then it could also be genuine. However, the ultimate question is can you/I really afford NOT to take the risk of losing 200 odd pounds when there is the possibility of essentially getting a free training? Someone afterall has to get the place (if there genuinely is one/two/...) and I want it to be me!

Not all of us can afford to pay our own way through an ATPL course and an offer like this, especially at the moment, is great (if it is legit)! It would be a lot cheaper to risk £147 and possibly lose it than to spend 40,000 pounds and still have no job guarentee.

I shall be calling the Scottish Enterprise, trading standards and anyone else that could confirm this offer or provide information and tips. Sorry Malgus, but you have to understand our scepticism. Will keep you all posted.

Please keep up the interesting views and if anyone has any further comments or info then please share! Thanks

The Graduate

[Capt Rommel]

There should be a simple solution to this uncertainty. If it isn't a scam, Malgus should have no trouble getting an independent, tangible legal party to verify the authenticity of the scheme. Essentially, no matter whether the course itself is real or not, this is gambling against unlikely odds with a small increase in chance if you're outstandingly good, right? But just like any other form of gambling, a solicitor or similar should be able to oversee both that the price is real (BAe saying "a party has approached us" doesn't mean that), AND that the tests are administered in such a way that nobody associated with the scheme has a way, even themselves, to manipulate it. Wannabes could then approach this independent party for verification.

I don't know if this is even possible. But until it's proven, I'd be forced to agree with VRef and Rolling Circle etc. Too much mystery and uncertainty surround this scheme.

"If it smells like sh*t and looks like sh*t, it's probably sh*t...!"

Malgus should be able to shed some light on this.

[moggie]

Come on chaps - you should know that prices agreed between an FTO and a customer (individual or airline) are confidential. However, I think anyone with a few grey cells should be able to see that there may be the odd "mid season sale2 or two under wya at the moment.

To tell the truth, I have NO IDEA what Malgus, BA, Air2K etc. pay - and anyone who says they do is using his imagination.

[Capt Rommel]

Ah.

Mid-season sale? But Malgus must have started the planning for their scheme, including their spreadsheets, *way* before anyone could predict how this whole mess of 11/9 would affect the training industry.

Beyond that, airlines get considerable discounts from the big training outfits only because they do serious block bookings for their CEP people over repeated and long periods of time. Any airline - even with a tiny CEP scheme - is big compared to a scottish startup.

How can Malgus secure an almost 50% discount? The company can have no reliable forecast of how many people will apply, never mind get through the exams. How can they, then, secure a fixed discount rate from a training supplier?

And even if they did, how could this information leak into the public domain - assuming Malgus is a reputable company?

Mysteries, mysteries....

[ 13 October 2001: Message edited by: Capt Rommel ]

[sammartin]

I agree with you AMS. Leave them alone, give them a chance to show us what they can do and go and apply! If you just keep slagging them off ALL the time, how the hell do you expect people who are really serious about this to get in? Just keep your opinions to yourself unless they're going to help Wannabe's get into the Malgus scheme. If you can afford £147 then go for it. If not, shut up.

[InFinRetirement]

Thought for today! Had to come in with a few points.

OK. It's not a scam. Malgus are a legitimate company. They WILL place you in BaE/Jerez for training. Fine.

The odds of YOU getting selected for ONE place are 1 in 470. But first they have to get 470 people willing to pay £147 each - that may well take time. So it will not be quick.

So, some simple advice. First you have to decide if you are a participant. Then you have to decide if you have a realistic chance of getting through Parc Aviation's rigid selection process - they have been doing this for years and know their stuff.

Then, a few what if's?

3 actually pass all the tests on the first selection process. Only one is chosen. Are the remaining 2 then selected when the next process takes place? In fact, waiting for another 940 applicants to pay their £147 before they can? If that is the case the 940 will NOT get ONE place allocated to them!

Check the sums. What ifs are a natural function of business. They are also a natural function of decisions. I strongly suggest that read what Sir Algernon has written on page one, and then get down to making a decision. It's yours and yours alone, as WWW has said many times.

Finally. It's no good feeling all enthusiastic, raring to go, and getting annoyed with those who try to dissaude you. They have merely done the sums and feel it is not for them. You really should be doing the same - shouldn't you? Still your decision though.