NJP_MAN
Pattern Altitude
Edit: 100 posts yaaaay!
(Preface: I apologize or any typographical errors or grammatical debaucheries. I am typing on the iPad and this is the rough and final draft. I just want to show people what my journey was like and maybe give insight to someone looking at fulfilling a dream.)
I am now finally realizing my dream of flying for a living.
I was working at a private hangar in Scottsdale cleaning the windows (of the building) and making coffee for a summer job. I was contracting for GE during the spring and had planned on taking the summer off. While working I would see 172s and warriors doing touch and gos and I started asking questions. I asked a pilot at the hangar about the best route to fly and he told me the standard get your ratings, instruct and then fly jets. From then on all I could think about was changing careers and flying. So at 29 years old I took a full time job at the hangar and stopped the consulting work I was doing. I took a discovery flight my wife bought me on 8-16-11
So in late September '11 I logged into Craigslist and found a freelance instructor who had access to a g1000 equipped 172sp and started training for the private pilot license. At 52 hours in January 2012 I was able to pass the PASEL practical test and I was now a pilot.
I joined a partnership in a Grumman AA-5 3 months later. I was able to build some time in the Grumman and started the instrument rating in September of 2012. By late October I was instrument rated and had ~180 hours.
I continued to fly with friends and build time when I could afford it. By this point I was starting to feel the financial effects of aviation. I was holding of on commercial until I could find the money to really focus on training. It was around February of '13 when I received a email about a scholarship opportunity and I sent in a application and was awarded $4,000 for training. By March of '13 I had finished CASEL rating and was rolling right along.
In July of '13 I decided to step away from my job at the hangar for a couple reasons and focus on the CFI certificate I needed so I can really start working in aviation. It was at this time I got hit with the reality of what avation had done to my wallet. I was forced to get out of my share of the AA-5 and my wife was the only one working. After a couple months I was awarded another scholarship ($2,000) so I could start training towards CFi. So I actually started at the flight school on 9-11-13 towards the CFI certificate. The website quoted $6k but I only had just over half of it. After 3 months and $6,400 dollars and a $1k checkride I had passed the CFI practical on the final day of the year 12-31-13
Last week I recieved 2 emails from pilots I do not know. One offered me time in a Citation Bravo right seat and I also filled out insurance paperwork for a right seat contract position in a Citation Ultra. Today I was offered a job at a local flight school to instruct. This has been my goal all along, stay at home and instruct and take the part91 corporate flights as they come. I get to stay at home most of the time and on occasion I get to be a "jet pilot" and see some cool destinations.
So after starting in August of 2011 and finishing in December of 2013 and accruing ~330 flight hours I can now look back to the day I saw the planes training at Scottsdale and smile. I had positioned myself in a good spot by working as line service/gofer at a well respected facility with great opportunities to meet people in the industry that were able to see me working hard for my employer and on flight training. I had a very difficult year in 2013 and I am ready to see where 2014 takes me (literally).
I guess the point of the post is to show that with determination, hard work and a little help you can fly planes for a job.
Cliffs:
Wanted to fly planes
Took 2.5 years and lots of money
Got ratings and CFI
Offered a CFI job and a position flying right seat in a Citation Ultra.
Hard work pays off.
(Preface: I apologize or any typographical errors or grammatical debaucheries. I am typing on the iPad and this is the rough and final draft. I just want to show people what my journey was like and maybe give insight to someone looking at fulfilling a dream.)
I am now finally realizing my dream of flying for a living.
I was working at a private hangar in Scottsdale cleaning the windows (of the building) and making coffee for a summer job. I was contracting for GE during the spring and had planned on taking the summer off. While working I would see 172s and warriors doing touch and gos and I started asking questions. I asked a pilot at the hangar about the best route to fly and he told me the standard get your ratings, instruct and then fly jets. From then on all I could think about was changing careers and flying. So at 29 years old I took a full time job at the hangar and stopped the consulting work I was doing. I took a discovery flight my wife bought me on 8-16-11
So in late September '11 I logged into Craigslist and found a freelance instructor who had access to a g1000 equipped 172sp and started training for the private pilot license. At 52 hours in January 2012 I was able to pass the PASEL practical test and I was now a pilot.
I joined a partnership in a Grumman AA-5 3 months later. I was able to build some time in the Grumman and started the instrument rating in September of 2012. By late October I was instrument rated and had ~180 hours.
I continued to fly with friends and build time when I could afford it. By this point I was starting to feel the financial effects of aviation. I was holding of on commercial until I could find the money to really focus on training. It was around February of '13 when I received a email about a scholarship opportunity and I sent in a application and was awarded $4,000 for training. By March of '13 I had finished CASEL rating and was rolling right along.
In July of '13 I decided to step away from my job at the hangar for a couple reasons and focus on the CFI certificate I needed so I can really start working in aviation. It was at this time I got hit with the reality of what avation had done to my wallet. I was forced to get out of my share of the AA-5 and my wife was the only one working. After a couple months I was awarded another scholarship ($2,000) so I could start training towards CFi. So I actually started at the flight school on 9-11-13 towards the CFI certificate. The website quoted $6k but I only had just over half of it. After 3 months and $6,400 dollars and a $1k checkride I had passed the CFI practical on the final day of the year 12-31-13
Last week I recieved 2 emails from pilots I do not know. One offered me time in a Citation Bravo right seat and I also filled out insurance paperwork for a right seat contract position in a Citation Ultra. Today I was offered a job at a local flight school to instruct. This has been my goal all along, stay at home and instruct and take the part91 corporate flights as they come. I get to stay at home most of the time and on occasion I get to be a "jet pilot" and see some cool destinations.
So after starting in August of 2011 and finishing in December of 2013 and accruing ~330 flight hours I can now look back to the day I saw the planes training at Scottsdale and smile. I had positioned myself in a good spot by working as line service/gofer at a well respected facility with great opportunities to meet people in the industry that were able to see me working hard for my employer and on flight training. I had a very difficult year in 2013 and I am ready to see where 2014 takes me (literally).
I guess the point of the post is to show that with determination, hard work and a little help you can fly planes for a job.
Cliffs:
Wanted to fly planes
Took 2.5 years and lots of money
Got ratings and CFI
Offered a CFI job and a position flying right seat in a Citation Ultra.
Hard work pays off.
