Letter From the Founder
Dear Fellow Passenger:
There are two things in this flying business that are facts -- one is that there is a severe shortage of pilots industry wide and second, Gulfstream International Airlines hires no "A-minus" pilots.
Which brings me to the subject of this letter. Where do we get such super pilots when there is such a shortage? Simple...we grow our own. Really, no joke, the same folks who own Gulfstream International Airlines own Gulfstream Training Academy. Gulfstream Training Academy is an advanced aeronautical school that only accepts into its program pilots who are already licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration as commercial pilots. The Academy then starts them on a curriculum which not only hones their current flying skills, but goes deeper into what it actually takes to be a really dedicated, professional airman.
Things like C.R.M. (Crew Resource Management)--that's the art of interacting with your immediate crew members in order to achieve their best, thus achieving the maximum degree of safety in any situation; professionalism, realizing that the cockpit is an office and the crew members are the officers of a rather large corporation; how we dress and act in public and how a lapse in this can bring disgrace to the entire professional pilot community. All the while, our future pilots are improving their knowledge by studying Federal Air Regulations, company policy and the specific aircraft systems of the aircraft to which they will be assigned.
After grueling months of classroom study and flight simulator training, they are re-checked by representatives of the F.A.A. first in the flight simulator and, second, the aircraft itself. Upon successful completion of this course, they still must go through a period of internship whereby a Gulfstream company Check Airman flies with them until they have proven that they can operate professionally and safely in the "real world" environment and, only then, are they released to the airline for regular service.
As a former airline pilot for over 35 years, I can appreciate what it takes to be a safe and professional pilot. Gulfstream's pilots are exactly that, and I fly frequently with our excellent flight crew members with complete confidence. You can, too. So sit back, relax and enjoy your flight.
Thomas L. Cooper
Founder
Gulfstream International Airlines, Inc.
