Certified Flight Instructor, and beyond...

At last, it's finished! Or rather, it's begun! After months of gathering resources and preparing lesson plans, flying maneuvers, and cramming regulations and numbers into my head, I took and successfully passed my CFI helicopter check ride this month. Doing so was an overwhelming sense of satisfaction and relief, but at the same time a definite feeling of anticipation and excitement towards new things to come. Having put all my efforts toward this certification for so long, I'm really enjoying now being able to focus on future opportunities in the industry, and on beginning to put my CFI certificate to work.

While working on my instrument rating one of my instructors once warned me it was one of the hardest check rides to get through. What was the easiest, I asked? For him, he said it was his CFI. And now, having gone through it myself, I can see why. It wasn't that it was easy, per se, it's just that I was very prepared and confident in my abilities, so that it wasn't stressful. Unlike previous check rides when I arrived at the airport with butterflies in my stomach, this exam, even including a 4 hour oral portion, didn't frighten me. That is thanks in large part to my instructor, Damiano Lupieri, who really did a great job of demanding high standards from me. And it paid off. My lessons went flawlessly, and the in-flight portion was smooth and successful.

Now, as I said, it's time to move forward, which is a great feeling. I'm already putting my name out there and looking for potential new students. And in the interest of not losing my momentum, I've been visiting the airports regularly to talk with other pilots and try to stay in the loop. Networking, as in all industries, is key to finding opportunities, I think. And where better to hang out when you're not working than at an airport?

The New Professional Pilot's Conundrum

Many of us who have dared to act on our dreams of lifting into the skies with an aircraft under our own control have further dared to dream of one day making a living by doing so. Some of us have been encouraged by other professionals who have achieved this goal, and some of us were cautioned to adhere to careers that kept our feet on the ground, but chose to ignore these warnings anyway. But however we overcame the obstacles of prioritizing, absorbing, and financing our flight training, those of us who have sought a career in aviation have all been faced with one very daunting hurdle: how do I get someone else to start paying for my flight time?

The main problem for the aspiring professional pilot, in both airplanes and in rotorcraft, appears to be this simple catch 22: no one wants to hire an inexperienced pilot, and no pilot can gain enough experience without a job. But really, it's a slightly deeper problem. Commercial Pilot certification alone does not fulfill the insurance requirements of most aviation businesses. Also, most aircraft used for profitable purposes are larger, more complex, and much more expensive than the training aircraft most pilots use to build their initial flight hours. Then, on top of those reasons you won't get hired, there are literally hundreds of qualified applicants seeking each available piloting position announced by a company. All of which leads to the new professional pilot's conundrum: how do I get that first job when everyone is lowballing each other? And how low am I willing to go to get it?

Because a pilot's first job is likely to be in the same small aircraft they did their training in, one of the most common ways to seek employment at the start is by becoming a Certified Flight Instructor. Some people call it a pyramid scheme, because each CFI essentially needs to train 4 or 5 other people up to the CFI level in order to build enough hours to start applying for commercial jobs. That leaves, of course, 4 or 5 more CFI's who each need to find jobs recruiting and training 4 or 5 more people before their careers can move forward. But regardless of that, there's simply the problem that more people want their first piloting job than there are jobs available, by a large margin. And with so much demand from fresh, certified pilots and such a limited supply of employers, competition is fierce.

All too often, employers are ready to abuse desperate new pilots by offering them low paid (or unpaid) positions that require them to do an assortment of other tasks beyond piloting, from answering phones to cleaning the office and aircraft to running errands 6 or 7 days a week. The actual flying may be limited, strenuous, or even hazardous, and some disreputable businesses may even want the pilot to take part in unethical or 'less-than-legal' practices. Some will make promises that aren't fulfilled, and some will require that the new employee PAY for additional training at their school before getting hired. And these are all the same businesses that get hundreds of resumes fighting over every job opening.

There is no easy answer to this conundrum, but each pilot who reaches it must choose for him or herself how they want to deal with it. The secret to overcoming the hurdle seems to be a combination of adjusting one's expectations, remaining positive while networking with others in the industry, and remaining open to unexpected opportunities. Undeniably, though, it is daunting to reach the limits of your financing, and to step off into the dark unknown of the professional aviation industry.

Helicopter Air Show in Los Angeles

Once again I have to hand it to social media for helping me discover an aviation event, this time right in my own back yard. It was through a glance at Facebook last Saturday morning that I noticed a pilot friend posted something about a helicopter event. Upon following a few links I realized it was something perfect for me, that I'd been missing out on up until now!

The American Heroes Air Show describes itself as "a grass-roots community effort to celebrate the dynamic role of helicopters in law enforcement, fire service, search and rescue, homeland security, communications and national defense." What that means to me is a chance to see advanced military and civilian helicopters and meet the pilots who fly them.

Because this air show is helicopter-only, the event is able to take place in a large city park instead of behind an airport fence. Not only does this make it more accessible to spectators, but also encourages a family atmosphere where people bring their spouses, children, and even dogs. A couple soccer fields were taken over with parked helicopters ranging from small trainers to large medevac and Coast Guard aircraft, with pilots representing each organization there to answer questions.

This event is largely focused on military and government operations, but also featured helicopter rides for the public from a local tour operator in their R44's. Clearly this was a popular way to attract business, as they were selling seats for the short ride as fast as they could take the money.

Overall I was quite pleased not only to take part in this fun and accessible aviation event, but also really glad to see the positive impact of these helicopter relations with my community. I have the strong feeling that for the aviation industry and the helicopter industry in particular to continue to grow, events like these that delight and inspire the citizens of their communities are vital. I look forward to attending again next year, or even becoming more involved as a volunteer.

Podcasts and a New Media Meetup

Now I can see that the world is changing. It doesn't take an expert to see that people are using the technology of the wired and wireless world in ways now that we could hardly have predicted just ten years ago. Specifically in this case I'm talking about social networking, and how people are not just talking to strangers in chat rooms anymore; now they're actually making connections, friendships, and collaborating together before ever meeting in person. And for me, this has become a growing part of my involvement in aviation.

What started for me as simply an interesting thing to listen to while studying or driving to the airport eventually became a large part of my life. Aviation Podcasts were my gateway into the internet pilot community, because they not only supplied me with discussion on topics I enjoyed, but also they used their home-made, user-created-content methods to reach out to me, to other listeners, and to other podcasts. Over time I became familiar with many members of the community, and as I added my occasional feedback to the discussion boards as well, I felt more involved and eventually connected directly with several of the people I'd been listening to. The result was that I started to change from an audience member to a participant.

So the natural progression beyond making personal connections over the data lines was to eventually start meeting some of these people, who I'd strangely come to know already from their writings and recordings, in person. And the first chance I had to do that was yesterday.

Rico Sharqawi, who is involved in making an aviation documentary with long-time podcaster, Will Hawkins, organized a weekend fly-in halfway between their home of the San Francisco Bay area and Southern California, at the tiny private airstrip of Harris Ranch. The event was created online through Facebook and Twitter, and everyone was invited. Some of the pilots already knew each other, and some like me had only met the others online. I booked the R22 a few weeks in advance, and when the day finally rolled around the weather cooperated and Dane and I headed north.

Our trip to the little known airstrip took us over new areas we'd never flown through. Actually the most direct route was not an option because the mountains to our north are covered with Condor Sanctuaries where pilots are requested not to fly; at least not at any altitude that would be practical for our R22. So we headed west to Santa Barbara with the intention of hopping over those mountains to Santa Ynez.

As we approached, however, we saw the tops of those hills were the start of a low overcast cloud layer extending to the north. So we transitioned through Santa Barbara's airspace and followed the 101 through it's canyon, just as we'd done for our long trip up the coast last fall. In the valley around Santa Ynez the clouds were low over our heads, but not so bad that we couldn't safely head in and land at the airport. While our fuel tanks got a refill for the long leg ahead, we studied the weather in the FBO. Surprisingly, it didn't look good - our departure and our destination were clear, but this area we had to fly through was overcast.

As we departed north I was reluctantly admitting to Dane that we might have to cancel and turn back, but progressing along the conditions didn't get any worse, and eventually bits of sunshine started to break through and the terrain started to descend beneath us. In fact, we were finding that we'd stumbled upon probably the best time of year to fly through these empty rolling hills! Mile after mile we were treated to a stunning soft landscape of new spring grass and flowers, which from the air blended into colorful brushstrokes of a watercolor painting. With no one around but a few happy cows, we marveled at how California can sometimes surprise you with it's secrets.

Harris Ranch, which is cattle ranch turned-oasis on the side of the 5 freeway, has probably the thinnest runway I've ever seen, at least for one that's paved and lit. At 30 feet wide, I was glad we weren't in an airplane. But helicopters weren't the normal visitors to this airport, and so with no helipads marked I brought us in and parked over an airplane tie-down. I saw the group of pilots we were meeting who were standing there watching us land... unfortunately though that meant they were close enough to be dusted with our rotor wash! Sorry guys!!

After shutting down Dane and I headed into the restaurant where the others had already grabbed a table. We spent a very enjoyable lunch meeting, talking, and exchanging stories. A lot of people asked us questions about helicopter flying, but I was just as fascinated by the things I learned from the aviation magazine editor, the pilot who works at Apple, and the airline pilot sitting next to me. Also it was a pleasure to finally meet Rico and talk with him a bit about the projects we're both doing. With luck there will be a chance to collaborate in aviation filmmaking sometime soon.

After the lunch we all made our preparations to fly back home, which for Dane and I meant refueling the helicopter at the Self Serve station. Unfortunately, though a lot of our new friends seemed to envy us for flying helicopters, I don't think any of them were jealous of all I had to do just to move the helicopter to the fuel pump: a complete start up check and warm up, hovering over to the fuel, and setting down and cooling off for shut down. Add to that the tight spacing of the small ramp between other planes, the tail wind coming at us through bushes and trees, and the fact that I did this without the familiar weight of two (Dane didn't ride along) and with the eyes and lenses of a half dozen spectators, and I'm sorry to say I brought the helicopter up into the least graceful hover of my career. Ha! And if that wasn't enough to make us vow to bring the skid wheels next time, we discovered that after all that, the static line for the fuel pump was too short to reach our skids where I'd set it down (on the painted mark). We had to borrow someone's tow bar to touch the metal to metal! What an ordeal...

On the way back home Dane suggested we stop in one of those gorgeous fields in the open painted hillside. A long-eared hare scurried away as we set down in a meadow of tiny flowers. Dane got out and picked some for his girlfriend, and then we headed onward to Santa Ynez and then on home to Camarillo.

All in all I was very happy that we were able to join the event, especially because I've been wanting to make stronger connections in the aviation community and with the pilots I've met online. And in addition to putting 5 more hours in the logbook, I can surely say I've learned something... park in a better spot next time! (and maybe bring some wheels...)

Mojave Air and Spaceport

In a new attempt to expand our boundaries in the R22, Dane and I took a flight recently up to Mojave. I've been curious to see this airport for a while, because it has a reputation and a name that keeps popping up in conversations.

Talking once with a 737 pilot he told me that he'd made a flight over from Italy to deliver an airplane that his airline was selling - but since there was currently no buyer it would be "Seran wrapped" and parked alongside a dozen others in limbo - at Mojave. Also surrounding the field I was told were rows of disembodied wings, empennages, and fuselages as well as whole airplanes that, no longer flyable, collect desert dust in an aviation cemetery. This I wanted to see.

Added to that some of the newest, coolest aircraft designs are being created and tested right there, including Virgin Galactic's "Space Ship One," "Space Ship Two," and their launch aircraft "White Knight" 1 and 2. Thus the Mojave Airport is also designated a "Spaceport". This I definitely wanted to see.

Tow-Bar for "White Knight Two"

The Saturday morning that Dane and I left Camarillo with the R22 was cool and clear, and relatively calm which made crossing the Sierra Nevada's a smooth and simple task. Reaching the Mojave Desert on the other side we realized exactly why so many aircraft designers chose this area to test their creations: there was a whole lot of nothing out there. Miles and Miles of flat, featureless land, divided only by a grid of dirt roads that sectioned off tumbleweed farms. The skies were big and empty. I figured they must get 360 days of cloudless sun a year.

As we approached Mojave Air and Spaceport we noticed a lot of chatter on the radio: a lot of other planes were making use of the runway and to our surprise, the tower wasn't in operation. Apparently it's only in control during weekdays. Being as we were in a helicopter we didn't need to queue up in the traffic pattern for the runway, but instead descended to a taxiway and hovered past the silent control tower to a vacant helipad. No sooner had we shut down and buttoned up the aircraft when along came a little tram half-full of recently-arrived aviators ready to give us a ride, so we accepted and it ferried us all past the rows of parked aircraft toward the main building.

This day Dane and I had been invited, as had dozens of other local pilots, to come to Mojave by Craig Fuller, the President of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. After a few minutes of meandering through the variety of aircraft the others had arrived in, Dane and I saw people gathering and heard Fuller being introduced by a woman at a podium. I was interested to hear what Fuller would talk about, but I discovered it was mostly about praising the achievements of AOPA, not about current or future concerns. After the speech I approached him and got his business card. Several more people were also trying to get his ear, each with a story or a concern or, more often, an idea for him to consider. I could tell whatever problems the pilot community were facing, they weren't from a lack of enthusiasm!

I was interested in exploring the rest of the field and the boneyard on the far side of the runway, but we realized that with all the people there for the event it would be impractical on that morning to do a tour. We bought fuel and departed towards our next destination, just up the highway.

Dane has a good friend who's parents own a little shop in the middle of nowhere on highway 14. Well, actually it's where a dirt trail begins that cuts up into a canyon between the hills, called Jawbone Canyon. And it's one of the most popular places to ride off-road vehicles in the Mojave Desert, which has made their little shop into the main hub for the dozens of motorcycle and dune-buggy riders who need gas, food, and beer. Dane had called ahead and they were expecting us, so when we found the place and started circling to determine the best landing spot one of the owners came out and started gesturing toward an open area.

I wasn't completely pleased with where Dane set us down, because it was directly facing a number of power lines and, even more worrying, turned out to be directly along the trail that all the dirt bikes and ATV's were using. But it turned out okay. I just kept looking as we walked in to get a bite to eat, watching for some drunken rider to come poking his nose around our shiny ride.

The place, however, was a fun mix of action, with more and more people arriving on their two and four-wheeled toys, stopping in for drinks and snacks. Dane got to catch up with his buddy, and before we left he took his buddy's girlfriend on a quick flight up the canyon. I didn't love being left behind to ward the motorcycles off our landing area while Dane showed off our helicopter to the girl, but I let him have his fun. Ten minutes later they returned and I jumped in and took off back towards home.

The ride home we were faced with a headwind, but we had just enough fuel to avoid making another stop. It all turned out very successful: 3.2 new hours in the logbook, and two new places visited. Can't wait to go back to see the rest that Mojave has to offer!

Robinson Safety Course

When I made preparations to spend a week taking Robinson Helicopters' safety seminar, I have to admit I wasn't sure what to expect. Three and a half days of classroom lectures? It sounded boring at best, with the chance of being difficult. What I didn't expect, though, was that it would be fun!

I'm a pilot because I love it. I can still walk through a hanger full of various aircraft and just gaze at them with the wonder of a child. Taking an aviation safety course, I learned, was about learning from very experienced pilots who share the same passion for flight as I do. Although statistics and diagrams lit up the presentation screen in front of us all week, most of the lectures weren't about theory, they were pilot stories. And getting to hear fascinating examples from people who fly the same aircraft as myself was delightful. I found myself not only compelled to take notes, purely for my own benefit, but also full of questions to learn more. While I first thought the only interesting part of the class would be the flying at the end, I discovered to the contrary that I learned much more from the classroom.

Briefly just to explain, my class was taught by long time Robinson pilot Tim Tucker, who was involved in the start of the company in the early 70's and we learned from others is a legend in the industry. Myself living and doing my training here in Los Angeles I'd nearly taken my Private Helicopter check ride from Tim, but ended up scheduling with another FAA Examiner, Dan Benton, who was willing to drive up to Van Nuys. I almost wish I'd gotten to fly with Tim, because clearly he packs with him such an arsenal of flight experience that I would have benefitted from his critique. Perhaps I will for my future Flight Instructor check ride.

After two days of flight safety lectures from Tim Tucker, interrupted on the second day for a detailed tour of the Robinson Helicopters manufacturing plant where the course took place, our third day was devoted to maintenance safety topics, taught by Robinson mechanic Efrain Vargas. This material was much more dense, and though we benefitted from more stories and examples about specific mechanical issues to be aware of, the end of our time with Vargas left me with more questions than I was able to ask. Still, I did leave with a much deeper understanding of what to look for in a preflight inspection and which issues are more important than others to resolve before taking to the air.

Lastly, the fourth day began with a lecture by Bob Muse, the local Chief Pilot for the city of El Monte's fleet of Robinson R44 helicopters. Filling in for Tim Tucker, Bob added a new personality and method of teaching to nicely round out the course. Bob was full of stories, and acted less like an employee of Robinson and more as a devoted user of their aircraft. He was very open to questions and again the whole class kept him busy talking about his experience and career, and he also talked a good amount about the debate he has with people who look down on Robinson's helicopters for not being turbine-powered. Currently the company is in the late stages of developing it's first turbine-powered ship to expand into that market, the R66, so there were plenty of questions from people about that.

In the afternoon I finally got to do my own flight in an R22 with one of Robinson's own CFI's, and actually all the anticipation (and possibly coffee and donuts) had me a bit nervous and excited. What would we do on the flight? Full-down autorotations? Zero-speed autos? Or something entirely new that would help me realize the extent of the R22's performance envelope? Before the flight I even ran to Radio Shack for a cable adaptor that would let me record the headset audio on my iPod, so I could listen back again later. I prepared my questions, and waited for my turn.

Although the flight didn't turn out to be mind blowing, it was certainly beneficial. We did indeed do a full-down autorotation (well, he did it), and even a zero-speed 180 degree auto upon my request. One of the best things he taught me was how to maneuver to the side while descending in autorotation and then turn back at an angle to help judge the timing to hit a specific landing area. But what I really benefitted from was simply that this CFI, Mike, actually let me do everything completely by myself... and I felt the difference. He was comfortable enough, having done this thousands of times with a variety of students, to keep from holding the collective with me and nudging it along - which I hadn't even known my instructors before were all doing, but I had always felt it. And unknowingly, that had always been leaving me a little insecure about autorotation maneuvers. Feeling now that it was all me moving the controls, making mistakes and making corrections, did something I'd had a hard time doing under other instructors... it built my confidence.

I intend to take another big step in my aviation career soon, indeed perhaps the biggest, to become a CFI. And in addition to the boost of knowledge that attending this course gave me, the boost of confidence may prove to be an even more important tool in working toward that.

A Fixed-Wing Career?

I got an interesting voicemail from a friend the other day. She told me her father, who has made a career of building his own regional airlines and participating in large aviation companies involving both helicopter and airplane operations, had mentioned to her something about looking for pilots to hire. Of course, it hasn't been uncommon for me to mention to her in the past my desire to someday get a job through the connections of her dad, and so she left in her message to me a question: Do you have any hours flying a King Air?

Now she clearly doesn't have the same knowledge of the aviation industry as I do, or at least a very good knowledge of my current skills and experience. If she had, she might not have asked the question because she would have known not only that flying large, multi engine, turbo-prop, pressurized cabin, high altitude, high performance airplanes is still a bit beyond me, but it's a bit beyond a number of my instructors who's abilities I aspire to. Nevertheless, the question got my attention.

So I've started thinking to myself, why not become a King Air pilot? Sure, my log book is still relatively full of blank pages, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't start thinking about the future. In fact, the more I think about it, the more I realize that this might be the perfect route for me. Not to forgo a career in helicopters, by any means. But working at a regional company that flew both rotorcraft and small airplanes has always been a specific interest of mine. And if building my abilities up to the level of a multi engine, turbo-prop, high altitude, high performance commercial airplane pilot is what I need to do to get that job when it presents itself, then perhaps it's time to start thinking in that direction.

And in reality, when I look into it further, I get the impression that it wouldn't be as hard or expensive as it first seems: at least not to get the legal ratings and endorsements. The hours of experience needed to be hired are another thing. But first of all I would simply need to get a multi-engine add-on to my pilot's license. And because I already have my Commercial license for helicopters, I have the understanding that my multi-engine airplane ticket would also be for commercial privileges. So how many hours does that typically take pilots to achieve? Only about 10.

Also I would need a couple endorsements for high performance and high altitude flight, I expect, but that would fulfill the majority of FAA requirements. In reality I wouldn't jump right then from a Piper Seneca into a turbo prop, but after an adequate amount of additional ground and flight instruction covering the more complex issues, I would probably consider myself ready to begin building time in the right seat of a King Air. So how long would this take? How much money? Maybe only a few weeks, or months if added on top of my current life's schedule, and a few thousand dollars. So if the end result were actually to be employment, especially if it were with a company that could use my skills both as an airplane and a helicopter pilot, I would see no reason not to pursue this route.

But how easily could I make that jump from pilot receiving training to pilot receiving a paycheck? That has yet to be seen.