Horizon clear-out
 

It's a bugger...seemed like a good outfit down there in the desert...:}

Its a great shame the board wont grasp the nettle and remove the problem. I have no regrets for leaving other than I have left behind a good bunch of Instructors, and students who are getting shafted by a man for whom I have no respect.
Good luck to those that stay.

Horizon clear-out
 

I assume the board is run by very apt beaners of the native sort; correct me if I am wrong. Is the chief flight instructor still there? Or did he get replaced as well...really a shame that this outfit went tits-up:sad:

Yes the rumours are true regarding the no objection letters - it's the one hold that the current GM has on everybody and he will use it when he sees fit.

CFI is still here but probably not for much longer - he will be leaving at the first suitable opportunity.

Many of the flight instructors have similar views but unfortunately for many of them they have too much invested just to pack up and leave.

Suffice to say that it is not a happy environment at Horizon at the moment and it is unlikely to change until or unless there is a management change.

As for the board of directors - they are out of touch with what is really happening as they only get given information by the GM. CFI spent some time trying to keep them informed but was then threatened with "serious consequences" if he sent any further information to the board!!!

Have they replaced the HOT yet, I saw an advert for the position. Not, by the sounds of it, that anyone with any sense would want to work with the GM, who appears to be the sort of T*sser that gives Arabs a bad name.

HOT has not yet been replaced. The ads have been out for some time but as yet I don't think there have been any applications - Surprise surprise!!

GM is happy with the current situation as he effectively has control of everything so he is in no rush to change things and he has his own lackey that does all his work for him.

How are the students now, have any of them graduated, my source says they all hate the GM too. If even the locals hate him how can such a w*nker be in the position he is in?

horizon Clear out
 

Makes one think. In most cases the biggest numb nuts run a good company into the ground. I really question when there will be a revolt to run these bad apples into the water. It's time to get proactive. If everyone hates this dude then why is he not expelled, discommunicated, exiled, or else... I say a mutiny is on order to shake up the helicopter industry. Anybody else sharing my thoughts?:E

Cheese,

38 students will graduate next week having completed 135 hours. It has to be said that the fact that they are graduating at all is all down to the exceedingly hard work put in by all the flying Instructors here.
At the end of the day i think Flying Instructors the world over feel the same about their students and hate to see them suffer as a result of others incompetence. End result -- All the guys at Horizon have been working their ***** off despite the problems from above. They have my utmost admiration and respect.

Allouette
Unfortunately it's not quite as simple in the Middle East as elsewhere to make such points. The labour laws here are quite different to anywhere else in the world and creating what would be seen as mass trouble would result in visa bans, work permit bans etc etc, effectively preventing anyone from working again in the UAE. The only alternative is for guys to vote with their feet and leave on the usual 3 months notice, however this can still result in a visa ban if the powers that be feel suitably put out. In addition, most instructors have invested a great deal of time and money in coming here and it is not that simple just to up sticks and leave.
Having said that, there may well be 1 or 2 that go in the near future.
The big problem is that it is obviously going to be difficult to recruit the right kind of people until the reputation of Horizon improves, but with a desperate shortage of instructors, and no sign of a change of management, it is unlikely that the reputation or conditions will change much. Catch 22!!

What licence will the graduates be issued with and are they all local?

Graduates will get a UAE / GCAA CPL(H) with Bell 206 rating, and yes they are all local guys.

Laugh, I almost paid my messbill!
What a crock of badly written ****e; however, never let the truth get in the way of a good story:D

This all sounds like a reincarnation of STATS OC Ltd. Trouble is AA will always prevail in the Middle East.

Tuckunder,

I can remember STATS starting up around the end of the 80s - they had some pretty experienced instructors head their way if I remember rightly; Bateen, wasn't it? What DID happen to STATS?

I have to ask - what is this intriguing AA acronym in this context? Anything like wasta?

Thud and Blunder,

Hi, yes we did have a few! 4 ex CFS(H) we started up STATS in 92. Excellent instructors, ran 2 (QHI courses), dreadful mangement, tried to do everything on the cheap which was why I left. However, had a good time both at Al Dhafra and Bateen. Miss the sun but not the AA (Arab arrogance!!). 3am call outs into the North Sea aren't quite the same as sipping a cocktail round the pool at the Brit Club! But otherwise N Sea SAR is goodI Get the feeling I should know you. Send me an email.

TUCKUNDER / THUD_AND_BLUNDER

Do I know either of you two guys from STATS days? I am what it says on the label. If so please email or PM.

I may also be able to shed some light on the "gentleman" everyone is referring to!

Cheers

S :ok:

How are things at Horizon now, I was thinking of joining, but the place seems very unhappy and disorganised. Have they changed the man that seems to be making all the trouble yet?

Xavier
 

Xavier

Check your PM for an update

Regards

GHC still has head above water!
 

In answer to your enquiry, Gulf helis is still operating and has been training new pilots by the dozen since last spring to replace the exodus of pilots leaving for better terms/conditions and management. Many have left already of course for better deals abroad!

Pay went up (well, sort of) at the end of the year by way of a 'dollar currency adjustment' which is basically a variable monthly -daily rate allowance to counter the plummeting value of the US $ right now. However, the company still hasn't bitten the bullet and just increased basic pay and many fear that all of the many various 'add-on' allowances will eventually vanish. Much easier to just pay a better fixed daily rate, accept that you will have to therefore pay a better annual gratuity and by so doing attract the BEST people!

Anyhow - the engineering problem has certainly strained resources and yet things still hang in there. Promises of more spares this year might help. Shame that a company that earns such fat profits from such a fat-cat industry can't just pay better wages and not be run like a private train-set by a non-aviator. Maybe companies are just addicted to bean-counters as managers! Still, are supposedly still available for those with reasonable quals and GHC have recently opened the doors to the over-60's club I am told - so maybe there is life after that tender age, after all?


:ok:

Hmmm. Must have been invisible pilots. I was there for most of last year, and while there were new pilots being trained, I wouldn't say they were being trained by the dozen. Not sure I'd be too keen on flying in the machines at the moment. I had a enough trouble getting things done properly when I was there, with others to help me. Now it must be mayhem!! I hear the Chief Eng that was fired, but turned up working on the shop floor a few days later as a spanner turner again, is now a Shift Supervisor. When will they learn that fired means p**s off!!
One question that still needs answering. Are those freakin helipads finished yet!!!!! ::mad:
I must say though, I feel for the two engineers that were posted to India by choice (one of them being Indian) only to be dragged back to Doha due to a lack of manpower. Poor Otis. Talk about kick a guy in the guts.

noooby