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Walter Mitty?
Check out Fly Siam - quite an extensive web prescence for someone purporting to operate out of Leicester. Rumour has it from the social scene at Leicester that this ex RAF failed wannabe has only just finished ground school and has not yet got a licence. Anyone got some decent info??
Best Wishes |
SSH :{ hope not
Quote "If you wish to attend one of our Helicopter Career seminars" |
Well it looks like just another wheeler and dealer trying to make some cash, by doing the extra marketing and charter services for helicentre aviation, he / she will get their little bit of cash once helicentre has got the punters cash.
Must admit that these guys are probably the best at marketing themselves to bring in students and the charter side will come, some interesting ideas they have to sell the 'Dream' , and it looks like it is working. There are still the typical profile of the 25 to 40 year old who wants to change his life and live the 'Dream', and if that means selling his house or getting a rather big bank loan, with the promise of an amazing career...... What could possibly go wrong :} Fluffy |
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It would appear to be some sort of facade in front of helicentre?
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SASless - hmmmmm.....thanks for the link. Interesting, perhaps this person is aware of this and copying the format but I doubt it. You never know though eh?
Best Wishes |
KryptonJohn - The "Legalities" section on this page specifcially states he is a front for Helicentre, but there are lots of charter brokers who do this sort of thing, so he's not unique. Quick internet search also finds
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Yep, if I had a pound for every guy who was good at marketing, flash cars and many different fingers in pies that has come to play in the aviation civilian chater / training market, there have been many entertaining characters. Just hope this guy does not fall by the wayside that so many have, because it is quite a nice website.
Hey do you guys remember some of the first smooth talking bunch of marketers, aviation consultants in the Uk back in the 90's. They came across the first good story of live the 'Dream'. The good old PLH, the two Neil's that would hold seminars and career days, the foundation of why all the company's now follow their 'be a career helicopter pilot', if I remember rightly they just disappeared one day with a load of peoples cash. Fluffy |
Anyone becoming aware of some Fish heading towards the net might want to throw a few Rocks in the Pond in an effort to steer them away towards a more conventional route to Utopia in the Helicopter Industry.
To any Fish that are reading this Thread.....Always pay as you go....in Arrears....certainly not in advance by Lump Sum! There are no Guarantee's in the Helicopter Industry beyond lots of Up's and Down's, lots of expense, way too little recompense, and a host of ways to get tripped up on your run to riches! If it is Gold you seek....better you buy a Gold Pan and head to Skagway! |
To any Fish that are reading this Thread.....Always pay as you go....in Arrears....certainly not in advance by Lump Sum! if they want your money in advance, it's an interest free loan - for them. I booked some training, at a "northern" UK flying training school (one of the oldest established here), for a professional fixed wing licence. I was to be there for three weeks, living on site. They wanted me to pay everything up front on the first day. I declined their kind offer. I immediately suspected they a cash flow problem. Each subsequent Friday morning I got a phone call from the head of their accounts dept, asking me to clear my account. I did so, the same day, quite happily. This made me suspect even more that they had a cash flow problem. Not long after I completed my training, they went under. I don't know if anyone got caught by paying up front and not receiving the training, but it wouldn't have been unusual if they had. |
Just been reading the website in more detail.
The Royal Air Force beckoned and he soon became one of the youngest Officers and trainee Pilots in the air force at the time and flew all sorts of aircraft small and large from pistons to jet powered and also helicopters. |
Quote:
"if they want your money in advance, it's an interest free loan - for them." I couldn't agree more, if a flying school is encouraging you to put down funds in advance of providing training, there is an increased chance that they have cash flow issues. Your "loan" becomes more of a gift when they go BUST. Recent example: the scabs at Cranfield/ previously Elstree. Stick to reliable schools who have a good track record and are prepared to let you pay as you fly. I used to go and look at a school's fleet, if it looks tidy, then they are probably maintaining their aircraft properly and not struggling to find cash. Such schools won't be the cheapest but what is a saving of £5 per hour if you lose £10,000? |
Seems like he's choosing his words carefully - "became one of the youngest officers and trainee pilots"... says nothing about ever being a qualified pilot. As for having "flown" lots of things - if you've held the stick once then you can claim to have flown it.
As for his claim that their "Plan B" service is unique - well that's just laughable - there are plenty of operators out there who will help their pax make alternative arrangements if they can't fly. I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole OH |
OvertHawk, yes, he's choosing his words carefully - so was I ... ;)
Bearing in mind the helicopter types on offer for charter, a 'Plan B' is needed in case it gets dark before you want to fly home. |
The Legalities… Fly Siam is an independent aviation broker that uses various private jet and helicopter companies. Therefore Fly Siam does not offer services directly and is not connected to any particular AOC Holder. Fly Siam’s main priority is customer service and so we make extra efforts to source the best package for the customer whilst delivering our own special customer service on top of that. A very flash website with very little, apparently, to back it up. |
If you're bored try the Robert Weaver/Skyferry thread on Bizjets/GA forum.I might be wrong, but some striking similarities here, 164 pages and growing....I'll leave anyone interested to read the whole story, but basically scamming people with the same type of stuff, mostly plank, but does also offer rotary.....excellent reading for a bored touring pilot.....anyways I'm off to pack for another tour early morn.....:(
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Flying Schools asking for money in advance
As a Flying School / FTO and I hope a well respected one, I would like to add to the thread and reply to Cylinder Head and Shy Torque.
While I understand that it may be perceived as risky to pay up front for training, whether it be the whole course, or blocks of ten hours etc, it does not necessarily mean that the flying school has cash flow problems. We offer a discount if the student wishes to pay up front, this negates any accusation of the student providing the Flying School with an interest free loan. If a student pays up front it saves time and resource chasing payment. IMPORTANTLY the student can also pay as you go, there is absolutely no pressure put on the student to pay up front. We will however seek payment after each flight, as we have already been bitten by students who build up arrears who then disappear. PLEASE DON'T TAR ALL FLYING SCHOOLS WITH THE SAME BRUSH ! |
Slightly off topic I admit, so mods feel free to start a new thread.
One of the problems at the small end of the industry is exactly the tendancy of third parties broking flying services and wanting to take too much of the available profit with no real risk. Whilst charter brokers operate on a reasonably consistent %, the trial lesson type products are all too often marketed by third party brokers such as experience voucher companies at unrealistic rates. I know of a couple of punters who managed to get a T/L £40 cheaper from the voucher company than the supplier was charging the Voucher company. Obviously they won't stay in business very long but this behaviour corrupts the market. Letting brokers set the price artificially holds prices down to suit the voucher companies and prevents market prices from rising to reflect increasing costs. If voucher companies are not made to charge a premium over our operators' prices, returns to flying schools will continue to be eroded! Voucher companies used to add their profit on top of operator prices, now they want massive discounts and they set flying schools off against one another by claiming that each school is more expensive than the next. |
....Check out Fly Siam .... Do the Royal Air Force really employ people with such a poor grasp of the Queen's English ? |
Buzzy.....we are addressing our concerns to the newly started operation that seeks payment in total in advance for multiple licenses and which then promises good paying jobs post training.
There is a whale of a difference between well run business operations and one being promoted by a Snake Oil Salesman. Silver State Helicopters was the prime example of the Snake Oil version....and might just be the model extant. Buying a block of flight time.....say Ten Hours at a time is one thing....but a full course of instruction worth is a whole nut her thing. Does the RAF have folks lacking Proper English.....well at one time several Squadrons of them....some of which were the high scorers in the downing of German Airplanes as I recall.....plus just more than a few who tripped across the Channel to Germany in bombers. |
I'm surprised that an ex RAF pilot would have the audacity to allow himself to be seen thus:
http://www.eacott.com.au/gallery/d/4880-1/Fly+Siam.jpg But maybe I'm old fashioned and don't see commercialisation of the wings badge as quite the right sort of thing to do? |
His address doesn't inspire confidence either...
22 Yaffle Cresent, Desborough, Northants, NN14 2GB - Google Maps :sad: |
I am guessing he was chopped from his RAF pilot course, I wonder at what stage ?
Edit: I guess I am wrong as he has his wings in the picture below, confused now ! All very odd |
Words such as Ponzi and pyramid (Amway?) come to mind, I must admit his home address is rather modest for a Forex trader - that has made some money.
Ex Royal Air Force Pilot turned profitable Network Marketer looking for Driven and Motivated People (Glasgow) Job Description Im a partner with a successful major British Plc in the London Stock Market. Together we show households and Smes massive savings off all shopping petrol and essentials (energy telephony. Im looking for distributors to help sell our Award Winning services to the masses. The profits of this rare Part Time opportunity can be great however potential candidates Must Be driven and motivated Ambitious and keen on making good money Chatty and friendly Not have a criminal record Above all Serious about changing your life to escape the Rat Race I will be investing a lot of my time in training and mentoring you to success to the level I have reached therefore time-wasters will be ignored. Will only take on motivated people Serious about changing their financial life situation. Previous sales training Not required. To be considered applicants must state What is your No.1 priority Why that one Why is that important to you what are the consequences of not having it Does that worry you? Why What differs you from the many? If you answer my questions a Cv is optional. Regards Siam Kidd siamkidd aol.com |
Yes this guy seems perfect marketing and sales in the civilian helicopter market.
" Yes Sir, this lovely second hand Augusta 109 was owned by one careful lady driver.......... That's right I will only take the deposit in cash ". Fluffy But honestly the guy that is pictured maybe a really nice guy, the above mentioned is mearley pointing out what can happen in this industry. (is that enough of a disclaimer....) |
Well, if everyone's going to have a go at this guy, how about this:
Siam Kidd - Ex RAF Pilot (for which the url is siamshrinksyourbills.c0.uk) ABOUT ME Hello there, my name is Siam and I was born and bred in Norwich, Norfolk. For the last 7 years, I've been busy on active duty as a Royal Air Force Pilot and over this time have flown over 10 different aircraft types ranging from small to large aircraft and even helicopters. I've travelled the world and seen and done many extraordinary things for which I feel very privileged. About Me http://2.bp.********.com/-CASrM3Ulq7...42227_5317.jpg Siam Kidd Half English, half Thai, born and raised in Norwich. Joined the RAF as soon as I got my A-Level results. Spent about 7 years in the air force as a pilot before leaving and setting up my own helicopter company in the civilian commercial sector. As well as having this part time business, I'm also a keen equity share and forex trader. Here's a stock tip: if you want to build up your own pension fund, don't rely on the state, invest into Telecom Plus. Look at it's history. Year on year growth combined with the board's passion to be here in 20 years... |
I've read it, I want to shrink my bills, all helicopter pilots want to shrink something....
I wonder if they can do international bill shrinking, as I no longer reside in the Uk. Fluffy |
According to his mate Jonathan Horswell (who says of himself "Whilst technically I don’t currently hold a Pilot’s licence (yet!), I have spent many thousands of hours flying in Gazelles, Squirrels, Augusta 109's, Jet Rangers and Robinson R22's"), our hero Siam also flew Harriers in the mob:
http://www.jonathanhorswell.com/ Scroll down for Siam's bit. Loved the pic with granny - why on earth would you put that on a commercial website???? Have a look at the other pics on his site, looks like he was on the C-130J too.... He sure packed a lot into 6 or 7 years (he doesn't seem sure which it is, 6 or 7). Oh I found this too - this guy is just so talented! fast forward to 2min 20 secs. |
More great stuff, see here:
Torture Training? Here's a taster: "This may or may not interest you, but I've been told to travel around a bit with my 4 Sight. I'm rubbish at public speaking but I'm told it's a good 4Sight. I had a few waterworks in my last 4Sight when I touched on Afghan (to my embarrassment) so I may or may not chat about it.... It's called 'Unconscious at 600mph' and I'll basically be giving an insight into RAF Fast Jet Pilot Combat Escape/Evasion Survival & Torture training, Gravitational Loss of Consciousness, will dispel a few myths and put a business spin on at the end." I guess that must have been from his harrier time then? |
Siam Kidd Inc!
You can't make this stuff up! Is this a party name tag he should be wearing? Enjoys "Snooker" too! |
He does seem very proud to wear his flying suit with his name badge!! I bet at a party you would have no problem working out who was the pilot in the room.
I do wonder why he left the RAF after only seven years - perhaps redunancy? It does make you wonder why he has not gone in pusuit of commercial flying? Perhaps Forex trading seminars will make him more money. Perhaps he aspires to be like Greg Secker The Flying Trader THE LIFE OF GREG SECKER Master trader, entrepreneur, philanthropist and international speaker are just a few of the terms used to describe Greg Secker. A multi-millionaire by his twenties, Greg has gone on to create and run one of England's most successful companies and blazed a path for the everyday-man in the street to walk towards financial freedom. Greg is proud to own Europe's top trader coaching company and is passionate about helping people learn how to be entrepreneurs. Greg's History Greg's career began in Thomas Cook Financial services. He then moved over to the foreign exchange business to run a brand new business entitled the Virtual Trading Desk™. VTD was the first online real-time Forex trading platform, allowing customers to receive real-time quotes for huge foreign exchange transactions. His career quickly soared and at the age of 25, Greg was a Vice President at Mellon Financial Corporation, then a major Fortune 500 investment bank in the United States (not bad going for a man in his early twenties.) Here he was lucky enough to be working around some of the very best traders in the world - with exclusive access working with high-powered Forex traders every single day. Using the very same trading strategies discovered on his travels around international trading floors, Greg's personal trading account grew to the extent where it allowed him to make a choice. Leave or Stay? Already a now wealthy man, Secker decided to retire as vice-president of firm Mellon Financial Corporation at the age of just 27 to set up a trading floor from his home. In just 3 short months from officially retiring, Knowledge to Action was born. Knowledge to Action In the past 8 years, more than 90,000 people have attended Knowledge to Action's various trading seminars and workshops, where they learn how to produce a second or replacement income trading the stock and currency markets. With offices in the London and Sydney and partners in Singapore and America, Knowledge to Action employs 150 people worldwide. The companies' meteoric success has been recently highlighted in the 2009 National Business Awards as a finalist for growth and innovation. They went on to pick up a prized finalist position in the 2010 London Excellence Awards, and most recently claimed 49th place in the 2010 Sunday Times Fast Track 100 Awards- a Sunday Times initiative co-sponsored by Virgin that recognizes UK's Fastest growing companies. Greg has always loved speed and as a young boy he was an exceptional sprinter and a daredevil rally car driver, a passion that still remains firmly a part of his boyish character. A sneak peak into his garage complete with Lamborghini's Murcielago SV and an Aston Martin DBS will confirm this. Greg lives in London with his partner, Katherine and their son Zac. |
More priceless stuff here:
The Awesome Norwich North Meeting of Wed 11 May! "Yeah, another great meeting as usual! I think Siam pretty much stole the show in the crazy story stakes this week; "so here I am with my Walther PPK and a fully armed harrier jump jet..." Sounds like the begining of a Bond movie" Oh, and a little presentation explaining what looks very much like a pyramid selling scheme... Ex RAF Pilot turned Network Marketer |
FAO Pprune users in this thread,
This thread has recently come to my attention and was quite shocked of what I found. I haven't used pprune in years as in the past I found that opinions are very quickly made from rumours/hearsay etc. And some very decent individuals have had their reputations wrongly tarnished. Now I'm very aware that your opinions of me have already been made and there will be little difference that this post will make, but I thought it's necessary for me to lay out all the facts. I'll try my best to cover all the points mentioned, so here goes. 1.) There were a couple of mentions about Helicentre Aviation and so this is a point I feel I really must make clear. Fly Siam is NOT a front for Helicentre. Fly Siam is simply and only an aviation broker. Fly Siam is not an operator of any sorts, has no AOC etc. Helicentre is a fine helicopter company with all legal creditations in place like AOCs etc and has been around for a very long time. And because Helicentre is well known for being a good operator, I chose to use Helicentre to fulfil potential helicopter charters or any other form of helicopter flying etc. I'm not affiliated with them in any way, I would just use them to pass on helicopter queries etc. So to clarify, Fly Siam is an independent broker and Helicentre is a fully authorised operator. And I genuinely hope that this thread hasn't caused any bad publicity for them as they don't deserve it. 2.) It seems as though a few of you have googled me etc and found lots of odd connections so let's lay the facts out. In a nut shell, I got my A level results and somehow managed to get in the air force in the pilot branch. I've never been the most academic of types, but I compensate in hard work. Anywho, I was unfortunate and got re roled twice and then eventually found myself in the intelligence community which has happened a lot recently. After a year or so I PVR'd and left the air force as I wasn't happy and really needed to fly. I'm not the best pilot in the world, and not the worst but like all of you here, flying is my passion. I love it and quickly found myself out of the mob with no main income stream and I wasn't flying. So in order to not waste 6/7 years training, I decided to try and convert licences etc and try and become a helo pilot of some sort. Instructor or off shore, I really didn't care. So I got my PPL(H) and started hour building for the cpl as you do and as I got down the line I found out that I could simply set up a broker type company and that by doing this, it would help with becoming VAT registered. And so after speaking to lots of different pilots, I discovered that everyone had their own 'company of some sort' and one of the things HMRC like to see in order to be approved etc is to see a website or receipts of sales made etc. So I did just that. But due to my enthusiasm or eagerness and commercial type mind, I thought that if I was going to do this, I may as well do it properly, so I got a good website made and started putting the word out there on and offline that I could offer all of these services through brokering etc and earn some form of income which would help with hour building n whatnot. Yes I'm a failed pilot. But at least I've got on with my life and tried to follow my passions. Why does everyone keep rubbing it in my face? People make mistakes and I was young, still am, but I learn from my mistakes and move on. And I'm also of the belief that if you do something, you do it right, so I really wish to do good things with Fly Siam. One of my goals was to one day become an operator in my own right with an AOC/FTO etc. And I'd hire or help out lots of chopped or retiring military pilots as the transition from military to civvy is hard! 3.) I also hope you don't feel like I'm a conman of some sort either due to the different types of websites you've found. Basically, after leaving the air force, I read the book Rich Dad Poor Dad by robert Kiyosaki and that completely transformed my mindset. I realised that in the air force I was simply trading time in exchange for money. And that 95% of the population does that as well. It was really eye opening. And the book shows the benefits of passive/residual/royalty type incomes. So you earn money whether you work or not, just like royalties on a book etc. So I promised myself never to end up in a situation whereby I ever relied on just one income stream. I became an advocate of income diversification and set out to earn at least 5 small income streams. 4.) The websites siamgivesyoufreedom.com and siamshrinksyourbills.co.uk relate to my Telecom Plus part time business. They deliver the UK's cheapest telecoms and energy and for every customer I get, I get roughly £30 one off commission, and I then earn about 3.5% of that customer's monthly utility bill which equates to £5 per customer per month. So 100 customers = £500 per month. So no, it's not a dodgy scam or pyramid scheme. It's a FTSE 250 company which is the Best Telecommunications PLC 2 years running in the London Stock Market Awards and has dozens of Which Magazine awards. 5.) The website HowNotToLoseYourShirt.com is a very new site which is still undergoing development. It's simply a membership website where one with zero knowledge of the financial markets can learn how to become a competent investor. Yes I have made money on forex and trading in general. But I have also lost lots of money. And that's the main reason for my HowNotToLoseYourShirt.com. I can help people to not make my mistakes and also speed up ones learning. Plus there are a lot of things happening in the financial world at the mo and a non jargon using way of explaining it would help a lot of people. 6.) One of you mentioned that my address of Desborough doesn't inspire confidence. I'm originally from Norwich and have recently moved to the Midlands and that address is simply a logistical move. I figured that if I was going to have any success of doing this aviation broker business, I may as well relocate with my girlfriend and set up somewhere central and busy. Norwich has a rubbish geographical catchment area and Desborough is great. Half an hour from Northampton and Leicester and half an hour from Helicentre where I was hour building. Plus central to London/Birmingham/Cheltenham etc. It's also right on the A14 so ideal for when I go back to Norfolk every fortnight! And someone mentioned that it's a very modest area for a forex trader...well the area I live in is very nice thanks and I live in a brand new 3 story house with 4 bedrooms. So for just my girlfriend and I, it's perfect. She gets to have her own dressing room and I get to have a man room/office. 7.) Now in hindsight, looking at all of the stuff this thread has pulled up on me, I was probably over zealous in my marketing. I didn't know what I was doing, it was my first conventional business and so I thought if I used the ex RAF tag it would help and I just got on with it. I just plastered Fly Siam all over the net, did networking meetings and all sorts and trying my hardest to make things work. I have NEVER set out to do anyone any harm or to try and scam people out of their money and I've never bitched about anyone. Even people that slag me off behind my back. All of my part time income streams are ALL based on helping people. Whether it's helping ones health, saving money on bills, helping people make money etc. Yes I over egged my marketing/advertising etc. And I cringe upon all of it. Very much so! And it's a shame google stores everything! But I'm always learning and I've played down my air force career for a while now. None of my new friends even know I used to be in the air force. And it's just disappointing to read the comments in this thread because I also believe in Kharma, but I don't think I've ever done anything to deserve this slating. Just a shame that people love jumping on a bandwagon to put someone down that they don't even know. Well, I haven't got a scooby if this post makes any difference to your views. But if you take away one thing from this, just note that Helicentre has never done anything wrong. It's a fine company and I somehow feel really guilty that they've been dragged into all of this. Oh well, if you ever meet me in person, please say hello regardless. I'm really not the egotistical Tom Cruise wannabe Walter Mitty I've been painted as! Anywho, have a good day and happy flying. P.S. Just read the last post....I have never mentioned I flew with a PPK in a bombed up jet....bloody hell people... |
At least he's a little more open than the likes of Weaver or Zaffar Khan:
The Legalities… Fly Siam is currently a registered reseller for Helicentre Aviation based at Leicester. Helicentre is JAR-FCL fully approved, FTO/TRTO (UK/FTO-194) and holds a CAA registered Air Operators Certificate. Therefore Fly Siam will be operating within the umbrella of their AOC. (AOC number GB2236). Might be an idea though Siam to look at taking a few of the postings from the past down - it does not generate the impression you might want to portray in business. |
Good post Siam. Good on you for showing up and good luck. Just stop saying "anywho" - it will definitely hinder your career prospects:ok:
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Many thanks guys.
I have been trying desperately to remove things from google but there are lots of thing you cannot delete. Today hasn't been a good day. |
"And I cringe upon all of it. Very much so! And it's a shame google stores everything! But I'm always learning and I've played down my air force career for a while now. None of my new friends even know I used to be in the air force."
Shame we didn't see this post you made on Monday of this week then: Brand new team in 4N Kettering! "On a different note, doing my last 4Sight tomorrow at Nottingham...talking about Afghan and torture training is eating me up inside a bit! Will be doing a new one soon...." We could all have popped along to give you some moral support on the last date of your "Afghan and Torture training" tour last night. Is it available on Youtube? Would love to see it! Google's a bugger, ain't it? |
Siam, good on you for your honesty and good luck to you, in all sincerity.
However, you have now asked folk not to "rub it in" about your RAF history, which it now appears you are actually slightly embarrassed about. No need to be, others have tried and it hasn't gone exactly to plan and they've moved on. Unfortunately, the aviation world is full of ex-military pilots who can, and will detect any whiff of 'BS', because, like it or not, they are experts in that environment. One thing I would strongly advise is never to attempt to display your RAF wings badge in a commercial way (for no other reason that almost all others don't and so doing that makes you stand out "in a certain way", perhaps the total opposite of what you had envisaged). ;) |
This thread has recently come to my attention and was quite shocked of what I found. I haven't used PPRuNe in years Well done for your post I think there are a few lessons to learn as a result of this 'interlude'. ShyTorque: One thing I would strongly advise is never to attempt to display your RAF wings badge in a commercial way (for no other reason that almost all others don't and so doing that makes you stand out "in a certain way", perhaps the total opposite of what you had envisaged). http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/sr...lies/wink2.gif I wish you good fortune in your 'non-job' and hopefully not at some others un warranted expense. Best Wishes |
Pinkfin, I meant the honesty of posting here on the forum.
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