I watched the entire first season and was indeed entertained. The guys are witty and genuine. Growing up in Arkansas and then Texas, I initially felt a special connection to this show. However, as a commercial airline pilot with 33 years experience, I know that the chartered jet shown to be transporting the 16 contestants is a Lear Jet 31 A, an older aircraft that has slightly lower hourly operating costs. The approximate costs of one round trip flight at $3,000/hour multiplied by an average of 8 hours flying/taxing is $24K. So for 16 contestants it would cost ballpark $384K in total airfare costs which is not reality and thus fake or staged. With a budget of $400K, 96% of the show's budget was on airfare? Furthermore, clearly there is no flight crew or captain during the deboarding on a private charter – which can be lethal if the passenger(s) do not know where not to walk. Given those facts, the entire first scene must be totally staged or fake. I was curious enough to search Google for the two investors and came across an enlightening news article that validated my suspicions about the show's lack of realism. A public statement by show's co-star Butch Gilliam in an interview on 10/18/2015: "The contestants go through a casting crew. While the West Texas investors do invest, there is a little more vetting and outside help than the show suggests. And the "club" house is really a building in Stanton where Gilliam says he has never step foot inside. In short, it's TV." Well what can you expect from the executive producer, Jason Henry, who is notable for his work on the Kardashians reality show? Regardless, the show is a "success" -- but I will go back to watching Shark Tank.
