Misadventures in Studentpilotism

So a quick bit of self-promotion here: check out page 36 of the August issue of AOPA Pilot magazine and my letter to the editor made it! Capt. Dennis (Denny?) Flanagan is pretty much living the dream that inspired me to stay with aviation from age 6. I just want to fly people. Having boxes in the back would make it a job (albeit the best job in the world), but passengers make it a journey. No matter what cool maneuvers I get to pull while flying with my instructors my favorite time spent in an airplane is when I’ve got a group of non-pilots and we set off in search of a $100 hamburger or just another EAA fly-in breakfast. I do realize that every commercial flight isn’t packed with several hundred happy-go-lucky people just tickled to be up in an airplane on a lazy afternoon getaway. I am not that naive. But I belive that with the right supportive attitude from the crew the passengers really can enjoy their time dancing above the Earth in a giant aluminum tube. It is this belief that I have rooted in me that will one day flourish and I hope inspire others to go above and beyond their basic job description. Growing up the value of exceptional customer service became deeply engraved upon my psyche. Between my jobs working with my father in landscaping and construction, generally admiring his attention to doing the job right the first time, to the paper route I took over and offered my customers a level of delivery service they had never experienced (I made near $1000 in tips at Christmas the first year). Culminating with my jobs at an FBO (red carpet service, prompt and accurate fueling, everything I did was to ensure the crew and passengers had a pleasureable experience), janitor at a department store (it at least built character) and now working Line Service at a University, these experiences have taught me just how valuable customer service is (I apologize for the run-on sentences but this is as much a diary as it is a publication). I yearn for the day I can step into the cockpit and immediately step right back out into the line of fire of our passengers, where I can circulate myself as an ambassador of flight. Sounds cheesy, right? WRONG! I am a pilot: I love to fly and enjoy reading my Advanced Aircraft Systems book even more than the next guy but I see the missing link that I feel many in the industry gloss over: you wouldn’t have a job if it wern’t for the people strapped in behind you. Equipped with this knowledge it is your responsibility to make every effort to sculpt their experience in a positive way. You hold no less responsibility than the Chief Flight Attendant on board when it comes to passenger service. So for heaven’s sake, if you’re stuck on the tarmac for an hour, have some fun with the pax! Moving on, another airline pilot I admire is Kent Wein, who has his own website and posts photos, etc. of his adventures through commercial aviation. I hope this blog will develop into a hybrid KentWein blog/jetCareers website eventually (10 years from now) so I encourage you to check out both: http://www.kentwien.com/   AND   http://www.jetcareers.com/  . I think Doug Taylor is the genesis mastermind behind jetCareers (one of the best websites for aspiring commercial pilots).

Until 3pm Friday, August 29th the largest aircraft I had flown was a Cessna 182RG. It was a little faster than the C172’s and manipulating the landing gear lever and the constant speed prop had me convinced I had finally “made it” into the next realm of aircraft. Let us take a moment of silence for my delusions of grandeur are no longer with us……. At precisely 3:30pm that day, as I ripped down the runway at the controls of a Cessna 310, I realized I had no idea what the hell I was doing. With 570HP at my fingers and the heaviest control yoke I had ever felt in my hands I became momentarily infantile. Have no fear because as quickly as I lost my mind I regained it and again felt like Maverick. Climbing out at 120kts and 1300fpm really makes you feel like you’re flying an actual airplane. You have to plan much farther ahead, accomplish your tasks at a more rapid pace and suddenly a 3000ft runway feels inadequate for your needs. You, my friend, are flying a whale amongst a sea of minnows. That is of course until you get lapped by a Learjet and again feel like the pee-on of a student pilot that you are. Maybe I’ll get to land the thing next time…