Just remember, if you're training at GFT, you're probably flying with the lowest paid helicopter instructor in Canada.
http://www.helicoptersmagazine.com/content/view/78/59/
Meanwhile, at GFT Aerospace Technologies in Gander, Newfoundland, “I don’t use Canadian pilots as instructors,” says president and CEO Patrick White. Instead, he hires pilots from other countries to teach GFT’s students, with “Norway being an especially good source.”
The reason GFT looks abroad for teachers is not due to an anti-Canadian bias. In fact, White would be happy to hire Canadian pilots as instructors, but the Transport Canada requirement for them to have 250 hours of flying time makes it difficult for him to do so.
“If someone has accumulated 250 hours, then they must already have a job in the industry,” White explains. “Helicopter flight schools only take you to the 100-hour mark, so the only way to get the next 150 hours is to work for someone. There’s no other way to do it, because paying for flight time yourself is just too expensive. For us to attract a Canadian pilot with 250 hours’ experience, we have to convince them to acquire their instructor’s licences, then quit their current job to join us. We also have to pay them the same amount of money or more.”
