Behind The Yoke

This morning I had the pleasure of taking the left seat with my father-in-law in his Twin Comanche. It wasn’t an official first lesson but it sure felt like one. The family is flying up to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh this summer and I needed to learn some basic flying skills to help out the pilot in command (PIC) for the trip.

The ground tasks for today were to work on braking, taxiing, and steering the aircraft around the taxiways and runways. Once we were in the air we worked on basic navigation and introductory pilot skills. Altitude and attitude control, turning and banking, trimming the aircraft. Visibility wasn’t very good from the haze so point of reference from the ground was difficult but everything worked out.

Tons of information to absorb and retain. Like drinking from a fire hose (a Tony expression). The experience was to say the least exhilarating. I love the intensity and how every dynamic involved with flying comes together and creates a sense of accomplishment. It’s like a well oiled clock in perfect sync. I very much look forward to the next flight. Hopefully my braking and steering will be little bit smoother during takeoff.

Haven’t posted here in a while due to the enjoyment of relaxing and fatting around during the holidays. I took five days off from retail hell to sit around the fire, drink some red wine and relish the time with my finance and family. Its been nice but back to reality later today. Time to make a buck…again.

During the duration on my time off I did a lot of thinking about my future flight training, change of career, etc. To be honest, it got me a little stressed out. It’s one of those situations where you know exactly what you want to do but its going to take a lot of hard work and time to get there. I just have to persevere and stick it out to get to where I want to be. My goal is to eventually become a part-time CFI, own an airplane and live on a farm. Very attainable in my book but again it will take time and money. A lot of it.

So now the question is how to get the ball rolling. What I have to do is get a job that pays more than what I make now to start my training or get an additional one to supplement my income. Problem is I live in a small cow town where the jobs are stretched thin and opportunities are very slim. Stuck between a rock and a hard place. I don’t want to leave Athens, I love it here too much and I’ll be damned if I move to some sprawl like Atlanta. Been there done that. Dislike the attitudes and pace of life to handle that again. Cities are unhealthy and mean places. So in order to avoid the sprawl I have to sacrifice making better money. I’m pretty much convinced its worth it.

I made a final decision about my PPL flight training. I’m staying away from the big schools and opting to learn from a local independent instructor based here at KAHN. I felt no soul in the big schools. They felt very distant and disconnected. I want to feel partnership with my mentor and flight instructor. Sounds a little hokey but its important to me to have a coach that demands the best from me. That’s how you learn and get better at what you do. Someone that pushes you when you get lazy and apathetic. It’s hard to get that when your relationship with someone is superficial.

Anyhow, its time for me to hit the drawing board. Time to find a means of making more money so I can earn my wings and get in the sky. Have to do what I have to do to realize my goals and aspirations. It’s gonna be a difficult road to travel. I’ll be tired and grumpy at times but anything that’s hard is worth doing, especially when its your dream. And dreams don’t come easy.

Here is an excellent Google video on an Private Pilot Oral Exam. I imagine that once I get to this point, the exam will be very similar to this one. Doesn’t seem to bad if you’re well prepared. The length of the oral exam is up the particular FAA examiner. This one lasts about 90 minutes.

I’m currently thinking about going the route of finding an Independent Flight Instructor for my flight training instead of going to a flight school. I came upon a school called Skybound Aviation based out of Dekalb (PDK) county in GA. I sat down with a flight instructor and he gave some me great advice about flight training in general.

The biggest eye opener after sitting down with him was realizing how little flight time instructors need in order to teach others to fly. They may be well qualified and give great instruction but I would feel much more comfortable creating a real relationship with my instructor rather than feeling like I’m going to school and having time constraints with airplane rental times, etc.

Most young and newly rated instructors have aspirations of flying for the airlines so they get instructor positions at various flight schools to ‘build time’ to reach the minimum hiring requirements. Honestly, I don’t want to receive instruction from these young lads. I’d rather learn from a career instructor or one that has decided to focus on instructing because they enjoy what they do. If your instructor wants nothing more than flying for the big boys, then I would reconsider where your getting instruction.

I’m really glad I had the opportunity to visit the Skybound Aviation and sit down and talk with some of the instructors because it changed my perspective on my goal of gradually becoming a flight instructor and building strong networks among the flying community. The old adage still stands - success is all about the relationships you build with others - including your flight instructor.