Silver State Helicopters - R.I.P.
 

I know the rumors have been flying and I’ve been told some of you have taken action in anticipation of a company shut down some time today. The Board of Directors has been working diligently with student lenders and the financial institution that carries the majority of Silver State’s debt. The entire lending industry was crippled in October and the impact hit all student lending sources particularly hard; we felt this full force. Silver State Helicopters has done everything possible to weather the storm and will continue to work on a solution that will allow this company to continue to explore options.

The Board of Directors has not made a final decision as to Silver State Helicopters. Because the monthly operating expenses, even at the recently streamlined levels, continue to exceed cash flow the Board has elected to suspend all operations effective at 5:00 PM today. All offices are closed effective immediately and all employees are terminated as of 5:00PM today as well. All employees will receive a final payroll check via your normal payment method (check or direct deposit by ADP). I know there are many questions that you will have and I will attempt to answer some of those now:

1. When will I receive my final paycheck and what will it include? Your paycheck will be processed immediately and sent to you via ADP as it has in the past. You will be paid through close of business today. The company does not have time cards collected already to reflect the most recent days so, as is common practice in these cases, non-salaried employees will be paid assuming a full 40-hour work week.

2. What will happen to my 401K? Your 401(k) remains secure with the outside service Company as it always has been.

3. If Silver State Helicopters are able to restructure will I be offered re-employment? The Board of Directors will continue to work to find the best possible solution for Silver State Helicopters. If the company can be restructured it would certainly make most sense to allow priority hiring to former employees that apply.

4. Should I seek other employment? Yes - Silver State Helicopters can make no promise of re-employment at this time and there should be no hesitation on your part to secure alternative employment.

5. Will I be able to retrieve my personal belongings from the office? Yes - You will be notified as to the available times and procedures to recover any personal property from a locked office within the next few days. Please do not take anything from the locations that does not belong to you unless you have written permission to do so as that would constitute theft. Surveillance equipment has been recently installed in most locations to protect assets.

6. I have a company vehicle, should I turn that in? Yes - Non-employees are not authorized to drive company vehicles. It is presumed reasonable that all vehicles will be returned to the closest Silver State Location no later than Monday, February 4th. You should co-ordinate all vehicle returns with Lisa Gunther.

7. What will happen to students? The students will be notified as soon as a clear direction is confirmed.

8. I have company assets at my home or in my possession, what should I do? Contact Steve Shaw or Lisa Gunther and make arrangements to return all items no later than Monday, February 4th.

9. What about health insurance? Angi will be processing termination for all employees on Monday. This will trigger COBRA notices and you can contract the carrier directly to preserve your coverage. The company also encourages you to begin your process immediately so that you may collect unemployment insurance.

Please accept my most sincere apologies for the stress and sadness this may cause you. I know that many of you consider this company and the employees to be your home and your family. Holly and I have made a decision to fight for every option to help the people of this company put something together so we may again enjoy the success we have shared in the past.

Most of you have been comfortable in writing me or calling me I the past and I will continue to keep my door open. Please realize that I am inundated with calls and e-mails right now and it is difficult to return all in a timely manner when there is so much work to do. Regardless of the final outcome over the next few weeks I will be eternally grateful for the friends that I have made and the greatness that we all have shared. There are few people in the world that will ever have the opportunity to share in the experience that we all have over the past eight years. If someone had told me back in 1999 that this company would do all it has done and then face the challenge that it is facing now I would still gladly sign on as an opportunity of a lifetime and an education that can not be bought. Thank you all for the opportunity to work with a great group of people.





I can not tell you how hard it is to push “send”.





With love and respect for all of you,





Jerry Airola

Hmmm: wasn't there a bit of a kerfuffle about this fellow in this thread?


:rolleyes:

I feel so sorry for the students and CFI's.

I know they were warned, time and time again not get involved with that outfit, but I can't help but feel sorry for them. This is going to end many people's dream of flying, and that is a very sad thing.

Weren't they asking for tuition up front a hile back? Will those students get their money refunded?

I hate to see a flight school close down, even Silver State. I flew an hour on the R22 with them once when I was in Vegas trying to get checked out so I could fly my wife to see the Hoover Dam. It was too windy that day, so they would let me fly. They also said something about the dam being more than 25 miles away and they weren't or were part 135 or something like that.

The CFI that day was Ian, I didn't like the way he did the check out. He did most of the flying and never really let me at it. Seamed like he just wanted to play with the chopper on my dime the whole time. He also tried to get time on the R44 by trying to push the Hoover Dam trip on us with him being the pilot. I'm thinking that's the other reason he didn't give me a chance at the checkout. I never had any problems on a checkout flight before or since with anyone else.

Monk

I would like to know when the Students will find out about this and why they had to hear it from message boards and word of mouth instead of receiving a formal school closing notice.

Bad rep or not, I have almost $70k invested in this program and less then 40 hours of flight time. Along with my entire school of 60.

A friend of mine asked me about a new SSH facility opened less than a year ago. I tried to steer him to the place that I trained, but SSH put on a helluva presentation and signed him up 6-7 months ago. For those that don't know, SSH helps you arrange financing with the funds put in escrow, then, regardless of how much you fly, they draw 10% from the account each of the first 10 months. Most students have not finished their PPL by that time. My friend has all of 15 hours and is out somewhere between $60,000 - $70,000. We talked just 2 days ago when he called me on his way home from a flight. He's travelling for business this week and as of now still has no idea that he's been swindled.

SSheli done?
 

sdgfdsgsdfgsdf

A pretty sad state of affairs. The one question I have is for all the people
that signed up and borrowed money: Are you going to make your loan
payments? Isn't it dependent on services rendered? Where did all the money go? Many people are on the hook for 70K with very few hours
and not even a private rating. What a mess.

sdfgdfsgsdfgsdf

shame on ssh this makes me sad for all of you guys. :(

:=:=:= Sorry mate but with SSH you are dreaming.

I feel really sorry for all the students and instructors that were duped by the SSH scheme, however there was plenty of information available just about everywhere you needed it.
I do not know whether you all are going to be able to get over this bad experience (and I sincerely hope you can), but aviation is not all like this.
This was a criminal that was able to play a lot of people and the system, I hope he spends a long time in jail.

:=dfgdsfgdf

From the SSH homepage.



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Maile Takashima

February 4, 2008
MassMedia Corporate Communications


(702) 433-4331

[email protected]





Silver State Helicopters Files Chapter 7



(Las Vegas, Nev.) – Silver State Helicopters, a privately-owned company based in Las Vegas, Nevada, filed a petition with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for relief under Chapter 7 of the bankruptcy code.



The company closed all operations yesterday, February 3, 2008, at 5:33 p.m. PST. This action followed a rapid, unprecedented downturn in the U.S. credit markets, which severely curtailed the availability of student loans for the company’s flight academy students and resulted in a sharp and sudden downturn in new student enrollment.



“The decision to shut down operations was made only after the company explored its other available alternatives,” said Elizabeth Trosper, company spokesperson. “Information for former employees and students will be disseminated as it becomes available.”



###



About Silver State Helicopters

Silver State Helicopters operated flight academies at more than thirty locations in fifteen states. Additional information will be posted on the company’s Web site at www.silverstatehelicopters.com.

We All Need To Act Quick !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

We all need to stand up together . We need to get a list of students started so we can start some legal actions . We need to find a good lawyer soon . So there screw up dosent mess up our lifes . Here is my email " [email protected] " or they will walk over all of us .

Good luck brothers and sisters...I hope you have some luck chasing this knucklehead down.

HP

Call to Action
 

Below is a link to the Aero-News.net article and a call to action for students:

http://www.aero-news.net/news/genav....fd81&Dynamic=1

To all prospective students out there, no matter where you choose to do your training, NEVER EVER pay for all of it in advance. If you can make a deal on block time, fine. But don't buy more than ten hours or so at a time. Almost every flight school, even if it's reputable, skates on thin ice financially with a limited budget and a slim profit margin. An accident, a natural disaster or the owner's death could all spell the end for many small schools. And when it comes to creditors recouping their money from an insolvent business you will be last in line, guaranteed.

ssh
 

I am, or was a student at the Sacramento SSH school. we are doing a class action lawsuit and I suggest all of you in other states do the same. I did some research on Jerry Airola today

(deleted: SP).

I am devastated as I'm sure all of you are. Please don't let him get away with this.:*

We have gotten a lawyer here in Sacramento. Get everyone you know together and contact us. We are all in this together. [email protected]