FlightSafety Vero Beach/F.I.T

phill1174

phill1174

Well-Known Member
Hey everyone, I was wondering was there anyone who happened to work for any of these two places on the forums? I was looking to apply at both and wanted some information. I heard nothing but good things about F.I.T and mostly good things about FlightSafety down in Vero Beach, from the forums searches I did which unfortunately were from 2008-2010. I know some of the things I heard about Flight Safety was that their instructors were not flying much, or that the school was not all it turned out to be. All in all i took the information I came up with, with a grain of salt, especially since they were from 2008-2010, and I wasn't sure if F.I.T was hiring or would I have to just email my resume in. I checked out their page and the only job posting as far as flight instruction was for a positon in Panama ( the country).

Thanks,
 
I don't know a lot...but I've spoken with flight safety instructors and they stay pretty busy. 80-100 hrs/month. The area is pretty decent. I lived around vero and went to aviator.

That's just what one of their instructors told me when I spoke to him towards the end of summer.
 
No doubt, the hours are there to be had...but the next question naturally is, how much is the pay, and will it be enough to live within means at Vero Beach?
 
Cloud Surfer said:
No doubt, the hours are there to be had...but the next question naturally is, how much is the pay, and will it be enough to live within means at Vero Beach?
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Maybe it's just because I'm from California...

...but when I was in the vero/ft pierce area I thought it was pretty cheap. You could get a 2 bedroom apartment ON THE BEACH for for about $150 less then I currently pay for my 2 bedroom in a suburb of sacramento California.

But I do not know the instructor pay for flight safety or fit lol
 
Hey @jgheggie I did interview at aviator. Everyone was nice as could be but I don't think I'm gonna take it. It's a contract job that pays 20 bucks and hour and unfortunately doesn't pay for pre and post flight. @Cloud Surfer I talked to someone at flighty safety, the pay is a bit less at 16.50/hr and they have benefits and all that fun stuff. It seems a bit low to me but with the hours it looks like Vero beach will be pretty doable. The person I talked to also said their making some changes around there and are trying to get some raises so it sounds like anything else in aviation, "wait and see"
 
How much multi time you guys have? I know it's a crappy job but Great Lakes airlines is hiring low time.

It says 750tt but I applied with 300 just for giggles. They emailed me yesterday to set up an interview in Denver. I do have about 170 multi though...so maybe that helps me??

The job sucks but its good experience with a lot of flying. 75hr per month guarantee but everyone I talk to says they are getting 90+ hrs. All turbo prop multi engine. So one year there could send you to any regional you want.

I don't have a cfi so this is one of my few options! Maybe instructing is better and more money for you guys. But just thought I would mention it.
 
jgheggie said:
It says 750tt but I applied with 300 just for giggles. They emailed me yesterday to set up an interview in Denver. I do have about 170 multi though...so maybe that helps me??

The job sucks but its good experience with a lot of flying. 75hr per month guarantee but everyone I talk to says they are getting 90+ hrs. All turbo prop multi engine. So one year there could send you to any regional you want.

I don't have a cfi so this is one of my few options! Maybe instructing is better and more money for you guys. But just thought I would mention it.
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Jesus, they must be desperate. The other GLA thread mentioned a 3-year contract...any word on that? If it's a single year contract, you'd make your 1500 hours that year and be able to move on to bigger/better easily. Interesting, to say the least.
 
@Cloud Surfer oh ok cool, let me know what you decide, I may see you down there. My worse fear is washing out of stands honestly. @jgheggie ahhh great mistakes. Nah im messing around, but I didn't know they were hiring at times that low. The thing that sucks with them is the training contract, and no pay during training, but I currently work at Delta, and was talking to one of the endeavor captains/ex Mesaba, who used to instruct at the school I went to. He commutes out of our station, and he was saying they're trying to find a way to get around the 1500hr rule, because they simply can't get enough guys. Maybe something will come out of it, only time will tell.
 
NewYorkophile said:
Jesus, they must be desperate. The other GLA thread mentioned a 3-year contract...any word on that? If it's a single year contract, you'd make your 1500 hours that year and be able to move on to bigger/better easily. Interesting, to say the least.
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phill1174 said:
@Cloud Surfer oh ok cool, let me know what you decide, I may see you down there. My worse fear is washing out of stands honestly. @jgheggie ahhh great mistakes. Nah im messing around, but I didn't know they were hiring at times that low. The thing that sucks with them is the training contract, and no pay during training, but I currently work at Delta, and was talking to one of the endeavor captains/ex Mesaba, who used to instruct at the school I went to. He commutes out of our station, and he was saying they're trying to find a way to get around the 1500hr rule, because they simply can't get enough guys. Maybe something will come out of it, only time will tell.
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Yes they are trying to get around the rule....and I guess they did. They are going to operate 135 scheduled service.

As far as the contract...it has not been mentioned to me yet, as I have not interviewed. However, in the interview invitation it mentioned this being a "great time building opportunity for low time pilots". So maybe it is only a year now?? Idk
 
@jgheggie

You'd think if GLA was smart they'd capitalize on the low-time crowd and offer low paying turbine time with a year contract. Go the AMF route- low pay, high turnover as guys move on to better gigs.

And actually CYS works out as a good location for me, too.
 
Why work at Great Mistakes when you can EASILY get hired at a pilot mill and make double or TRIPLE the income that Lakes pays its first officers? It's fairly achievable getting up to ATP mins in a year or so at one of the big schools like FSI, CAE Oxford, TransPac, SAA or USAA to name a few. Furthermore, your resume won't be tarnished by the stain of having worked at GLA.

Honest question, I'm confused....
 
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phill1174 said:
@Cloud Surfer oh ok cool, let me know what you decide, I may see you down there. My worse fear is washing out of stands honestly. @jgheggie ahhh great mistakes. Nah im messing around, but I didn't know they were hiring at times that low. The thing that sucks with them is the training contract, and no pay during training, but I currently work at Delta, and was talking to one of the endeavor captains/ex Mesaba, who used to instruct at the school I went to. He commutes out of our station, and he was saying they're trying to find a way to get around the 1500hr rule, because they simply can't get enough guys. Maybe something will come out of it, only time will tell.
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Aye, will do. Have you looked into U.S. Aviation Academy in Denton, TX, by chance? They're also constantly hiring every couple of months and from what I gather the pay and amount of hours that you could build there in a year are fairly equal to TransPac.
 
Cloud Surfer said:
Why work at Great Mistakes when you can EASILY get hired at a pilot mill and make double or TRIPLE the income that Lakes pays its first officers? It's fairly achievable getting up to ATP mins in a year or so at one of the big schools like FSI, CAE Oxford, TransPac, SAA or USAA to name a few. Furthermore, your resume won't be tarnished by the stain of having worked at GLA.

Honest question, I'm confused....
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No cfi and no money to get one. My options are limited. If I had a cfi then I would certainly instruct somewhere and stay far away from lakes. But for right now, it's the only option to build time.

As far as tarnishing a résumé, I know several former lakes guys that have easily moved on to other regionals and some majors.

Lakes sucks..there's no arguing that. But the pilots that fly there are all good pilots. Just because they worked at lakes doesn't make them any less desirable during hiring periods elsewhere. I would venture to guess that if I flew for lakes from 300 to 1500 hours I would be a decent recruit for all other airlines. So instead of having another 1200 hrs in a small cessna instructing around "practice" area, I would have real world part 135 instrument cross country experience. Sure it's SIC...but the total time is the same and all other times would look good.

The airlines mostly require 500hrs cross country. All the instructors I've talked to have said that's the hardest requirement to fill.
 
jgheggie said:
No cfi and no money to get one. My options are limited. If I had a cfi then I would certainly instruct somewhere and stay far away from lakes. But for right now, it's the only option to build time.

As far as tarnishing a résumé, I know several former lakes guys that have easily moved on to other regionals and some majors.

Lakes sucks..there's no arguing that. But the pilots that fly there are all good pilots. Just because they worked at lakes doesn't make them any less desirable during hiring periods elsewhere. I would venture to guess that if I flew for lakes from 300 to 1500 hours I would be a decent recruit for all other airlines. So instead of having another 1200 hrs in a small cessna instructing around "practice" area, I would have real world part 135 instrument cross country experience. Sure it's SIC...but the total time is the same and all other times would look good.

The airlines mostly require 500hrs cross country. All the instructors I've talked to have said that's the hardest requirement to fill.
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That sucks, man. Sorry to hear that. Did you apply to Sierra yet? A one year contract with them isn't really too bad honestly. Plus I think the pay might be higher there too than at GLA, IIRC.
 
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