The Good
It's easy to get a pilot license in Indonesia. It seems the official examiners observe the flight operations, glance at the paperwork, establish an opinion of the operating procedures, and fly with a few students. The smart flight school present their best pilots first and hope the examiner runs out of time and doesn't fly with all of them. Everyone in the batch either passes or fails.
The same goes for the theory exams. The official examiners watch the students take the test to make sure they are trying hard, look over the school paperwork and attendance records, then decide to pass or fail the entire class without grading the exams. No one gets a grade. Pass or fail.
I think the theory is that the airlines will weed out the poor pilots and do the real training. In Indonesia, if you are Indonesian and you have a CPL license, you will probably get hired, no matter how poorly you have been trained.
The Bad
The bad part of this is that most newly hired pilots don't make it past 100 hours in their new job. Because they did not receive the basics, because they were not allowed to fail, and because they did not receive proper training, they can't keep up with the job.
They end up with losing the money they invested in their flight training (about $60,000 USD), losing the bond they had to give to the airline for jet training (about $50,000 USD), flying for low pay for several months unable to pay back their debt, with not enough hours to get another flying job, and a failed job performance on their resume. Their flying career is essentially over.
The bad part of this is that this occurs to most (about 85%) newly-hired pilots. Of course, none of the flight schools will tell you this. Nor do they care: they already have their money.
What makes LIFT stand out is their circumstances are more deplorable than most. Incompetent management (although many who work there are highly qualified, their advice and experience is resented) and false promises drag this school into the "worse than usual" category. Add more woes: LIFT was set up at an airport that was closed down as soon as the school started, forcing the students and instructors to travel by car an hour and fifteen minutes EACH WAY every day they are scheduled to fly to get to the aircraft. If the flight is cancelled because of weather or other circumstances, the trip is still mandatory. Once in the air, students have to fly 40 minutes to get to the practice area. Each flight consists of about 15-20 minutes of lesson time, and the rest is ferry time. Every day. Landings can't be practiced at the origin airport (because of airline traffic), so students must go to an airport at least 80km away for touch-and-goes. If the weather deteriorates, they are stuck in the middle of nowhere until it clears.
The Truly Ugly
Promises are made that this school is the best in Indonesia, but in fact delivers nothing. The students who attend face an uncertain future. While many will get hired, anyone who can stay hired long-term will be because they have sought additional training and resources on their own. Instructors who come to work here never finish their 1-year contract, most leaving after a few months. LIFT exploits the weaknesses of the Indonesian system to the detriment of students who don't know better.
There are no standards in training here. Anything goes and each student is taught a little differently. There is no airline preparation, no CRM training (prized by airlines), and no acceptably recognized standards. Students are not taught even the basics, such as hand signals, V speeds, and the proper use of checklists. Instead of attempting to improve training, blame is placed on outside factors. Those who dare to inform Edmond are fired or quit.
LIFT will continue to operate as long as the money holds out. Students will "graduate", but their certificates will be useless in the real world. The Indonesian license is not recognized by other countries. To fly for Malaysia (for example), the Indonesian pilot must take additional exams and flight tests at their own expense. This business is tough enough without additional burdens placed on unsuspecting student pilots.
The bottom line is, students will pay a lot of money for flight training at LIFT and never get their investment back.
The same goes for the theory exams. The official examiners watch the students take the test to make sure they are trying hard, look over the school paperwork and attendance records, then decide to pass or fail the entire class without grading the exams. No one gets a grade. Pass or fail.
I think the theory is that the airlines will weed out the poor pilots and do the real training. In Indonesia, if you are Indonesian and you have a CPL license, you will probably get hired, no matter how poorly you have been trained.
The Bad
The bad part of this is that most newly hired pilots don't make it past 100 hours in their new job. Because they did not receive the basics, because they were not allowed to fail, and because they did not receive proper training, they can't keep up with the job.
They end up with losing the money they invested in their flight training (about $60,000 USD), losing the bond they had to give to the airline for jet training (about $50,000 USD), flying for low pay for several months unable to pay back their debt, with not enough hours to get another flying job, and a failed job performance on their resume. Their flying career is essentially over.
The bad part of this is that this occurs to most (about 85%) newly-hired pilots. Of course, none of the flight schools will tell you this. Nor do they care: they already have their money.
What makes LIFT stand out is their circumstances are more deplorable than most. Incompetent management (although many who work there are highly qualified, their advice and experience is resented) and false promises drag this school into the "worse than usual" category. Add more woes: LIFT was set up at an airport that was closed down as soon as the school started, forcing the students and instructors to travel by car an hour and fifteen minutes EACH WAY every day they are scheduled to fly to get to the aircraft. If the flight is cancelled because of weather or other circumstances, the trip is still mandatory. Once in the air, students have to fly 40 minutes to get to the practice area. Each flight consists of about 15-20 minutes of lesson time, and the rest is ferry time. Every day. Landings can't be practiced at the origin airport (because of airline traffic), so students must go to an airport at least 80km away for touch-and-goes. If the weather deteriorates, they are stuck in the middle of nowhere until it clears.
The Truly Ugly
Promises are made that this school is the best in Indonesia, but in fact delivers nothing. The students who attend face an uncertain future. While many will get hired, anyone who can stay hired long-term will be because they have sought additional training and resources on their own. Instructors who come to work here never finish their 1-year contract, most leaving after a few months. LIFT exploits the weaknesses of the Indonesian system to the detriment of students who don't know better.
There are no standards in training here. Anything goes and each student is taught a little differently. There is no airline preparation, no CRM training (prized by airlines), and no acceptably recognized standards. Students are not taught even the basics, such as hand signals, V speeds, and the proper use of checklists. Instead of attempting to improve training, blame is placed on outside factors. Those who dare to inform Edmond are fired or quit.
LIFT will continue to operate as long as the money holds out. Students will "graduate", but their certificates will be useless in the real world. The Indonesian license is not recognized by other countries. To fly for Malaysia (for example), the Indonesian pilot must take additional exams and flight tests at their own expense. This business is tough enough without additional burdens placed on unsuspecting student pilots.
The bottom line is, students will pay a lot of money for flight training at LIFT and never get their investment back.
