Accept Only Your Best

When I was going through flight training I always thought I was doing great if I could hold altitude within 100', or airspeed within 10 knots, or heading within 10 degrees.  That is what the PTS standards teach, right?  If I can do that, I can pass a checkride and become a pilot.  But what I didn't understand is that those standards are simply there so the FAA has some way to grade us all the same; flying just within those standards will not make us the best.  Do you think the Blue Angels, when flying in formation say, "I'm only off 5 degrees, so I'm good."  Heck no!  Being off only 5 degrees could mean catastrophe.  I am here to tell you that you can fly better than the PTS standards.

You want me to fly at 16,000'?  No problem!

Looks like I needed a little more right rudder!

I remember, way back in the day when I was working on my Private Pilot's license, an airline pilot saying to me "If you can hold your altitude 100' low, why not just hold the correct altitude?"  It made sense to me, but I was still learning what an altimeter was, let alone fly at the correct altitude for longer than 5 seconds.  I always remembered what he said, but I got sucked into the PTS standards way of life and didn't take his lesson to heart.  I didn't mind so much if I got 75' low because I was still flying within the standards set by the FAA, and they always know what is best, right?  Right?

I continued my training and was soon teaching others how to become pilots.  It was then that the light bulb turned on.  I needed to be training these pilots for life, not just for a checkride.  I, of course, still showed my students the PTS standards, but I explained that if they flew these minimum standards, they were barely passing... and in school barely passing means getting all Cs.  Do I want to train pilots to be C pilots, standard pilots?  Heck no!  We want to be the best at what we do- that is why we are pilots.  We are competitive and we want to be the best!

Remember, it takes time to become a great pilot, but it is possible.  Don't expect "perfection" (of course 100% perfection is not possible, but you know what I mean), especially not on your first flight; if you do you won't make it past the first lesson.  Not once did I have a student fly "perfect" on the first, second, or even 15th flight.  It takes a lot of time and patience, but if you are determined, you will get there.

Here are a few things I did to get my students from their first flight to awesome pilots:

Prior to my students first solo I had my students practice the PTS standards, but I accepted deviations- if you are too hard on yourself, or if your instructor is too hard on you, that just brings negative learning, and that is no good.  The solo is amazing for building confidence and helping you (or your students) realize that you really can fly an airplane with no assistance from an instructor.

After the solo I would tighten the standards, but remind my students before each flight that I expected them to be able to fly within the PTS standards.  I didn't say this in a mean way, but in a motivating way, telling them that I knew they could do it!  "You can fly solo, so you can fly within the PTS standards, no problem."

After a few more flight lessons came the solo cross-countries.  Again, an amazing confidence builder.  To all students- now, not only can you fly all over the place by yourself, but you have had the time, alone, to practice your flying skills- with no flight instructor talking the entire time distracting you (I'm sure I never distracted my students from talking too much, I just heard stories of other instructors doing that).

Aiming for 180 knots, pretty darn close!

After the solo cross countries, and before I would send my students on checkrides, I would have them fly and hold 1/2 of all the PTS standards.  For example, I would have them hold airspeed within 5 knots instead of 10 knots.  But I tried to always remind them that if they could hold 5 knots off, they could hold the correct airspeed as well.  Why accept less than your best when you can do your best?

 Now I know I was not the perfect flight instructor, and I'm sure there are better ways to teach than what I did, but I really tried to teach my students to be great pilots for life, not just for a checkride, and I hope you will do the same.


If you are an instructor, do better!  If you are a student, accept more of yourself and remember, if you can fly 100' low consistently, you can fly your target altitude consistently!  Accept only your best!

Work Is What You Make It

One of the many benefits of working for the airlines is all of the travel opportunities- there, I said it.  These past few weeks have been pretty great for that.  I know a career at the airlines can be hard for some spouses, who may feel left out of the fun or feel stuck at home watching the kids or working.  It can be like that, but it doesn't have to be.  Make your career at the airlines an enjoyable experience for the both of you!

Last month one of my favorite female captains and I decided to bid for the same 2-day trip and have our husbands come along.  We bid for a trip that had only 2 flights the first day, got done at 1pm, and over-nighted in San Diego.  We met our husbands in San Diego and had the rest of the day to do whatever we wanted.  We spent some time at the pool/hot tub relaxing, eating great food, and visiting Old Town San Diego.  It was a blast and by far the best way to work/vacation.  I know I don't usually post personal pics, but I thought just this once might be okay.  :)

The past weekend I had to go to Long Beach for my yearly sim session.  I had studied so much before hand (which is why I haven't posted in a few weeks), that I could study no longer.  So my husband came out with me and we enjoyed our time on the coast.  My sim slot was from 4-10pm so we had the entire morning to do whatever we wanted to.  The morning after the sim (I passed, of course) we did a little bit more sight-seeing and then headed home.  It was great!  

Here's a picture of the lovely full motion sim.  I always wondered what they looked like when I going through training, so here ya go.  

My point to all of this is that working for the airlines doesn't mean you have to be away from your loved ones all the time.  You can turn your work days into mini getaways with your spouse so you can still see each other and continue to grow your relationship.  Life is what you make it, so make it something you can enjoy!

Want a Career as a Pilot? Here are Some Things to Consider

What do you want to be when you 'grow up'?  What do you want your schedule to look like?  How many hours do you want to work each week?  How much effort do you want to put into getting the career of your choice?  How much money do you want to make?  These are all questions many of you probably ask yourself all the time.  Though none of these answers would have changed my mind about becoming an airline pilot, it still would have been nice to have these answers early on in my training.  Following are some things to consider if you want to be a pilot when you grow up.

Training is Expensive
How are you going to pay for training?  Obviously it would be nice to have a close relative willing to pay for it, but how many of us have that?

Apply for as many scholarships as you can.  The more you apply for, the more likely you are to get some.  School counselors should know of some companies to go through, Women in Aviation offers quite a few, or you could do a google search.  As far as searching for them on your own, be careful to apply for ones that are not scams- some websites just want your email so they can send you junk mail.  I applied for many scholarships and received 2.  I was super thankful, but it wasn't enough to pay for everything.

Some schools also offer financial aid.  I was able to get some grants (because I made such little money), subsidized, and unsubsidized loans.  These helped too, but it still wasn't enough for me.

If scholarships and financial aid don't cut it, and you don't have anyone willing to pay the bills, loans are an option.  Read the fine print when you sign for a loan.  Make sure you know what the interest rate is.  Also, if it is an education loan, know that most (at least the ones I had) still had to be paid off even if I passed away and even with NO COSIGNERS.  Crazy!  They'll find someone to pay it off, even if it isn't going to be you.  Because of this, my goal was to pay off my loans as quickly as possible.  In the event something did happen, I didn't want someone else stuck with my debt.
*I'll do a later blog post that explains how I was able to pay off my debt of $50,000 in 3 years on an CFI salary.

How Much Time Can You Commit?
Aviation is not a career that you can slack and still make it.  It is tough; it is competitive; it can be stressful at times; but it is this way because airlines need the best.  If you are not on your A-Game all the time, safety could slip through the cracks.  This career is all about making the best and safest choices, so it will take effort to get where you want to be.

Becoming a pilot is so much more than just flying an airplane (anybody can do that).  To name just a few of the additional items you will need to know--numerous checklists, aircraft systems, weather, regulations, airspace, airspeed limitations, how the body responds to altitude, how to make the correct decisions, etc.  You will spend just as much time in the air as you will on the ground to get a license, and that is a fact!  You need to commit quite a bit of time studying and learning if you want a career in aviation.

The End Goal
What is your end goal?  CFI?  Airlines?  Cargo?  Corporate?  Private?  I had many of these questions early on, so I attended a few aviation conferences where I could meet and speak with others in all of these career fields.  You don't have to decide immediately, but it is nice to know what each one entails so you can find a good fit for you.  I LOVED flight instructing, but for me, I wanted more- I always knew that if I didn't enjoy what I picked I could always go back to flight instructing and be completely happy.

So how did I narrow down my choice?  I don't really enjoy being on call, so I knew that corporate or private might not be a good fit for me.  I also don't like working into the wee hours of the morning, so maybe cargo wasn't the best choice (though it typically pays pretty well).  After speaking with many aviators, I decided the airlines would be the best fit for me.  I only had to be on call for less than a year and I rarely work past midnight, so I'd say I picked what worked best with my goals and priorities.

Network, Network Network!
If you want a career in aviation,  you have to network.  I'm not talking about getting business cards from someone you meet for 5 seconds, I'm talking about people who can vouch for you.  Be kind to your flight instructors, excel on your checkrides, keep in contact with your teachers, always be honest, have integrity, and truly care about those you come in contact with.  If you do this, you will have no problem finding people who can vouch for your character and get you in the 'network.'

When I finally decided to go to the airlines, I had people ask me (who worked at the company I wanted to work for) if they could write me letters of recommendation; I don't say this to brag, but I say this to show the importance of always treating others well and doing your best at all times.  People will appreciate it and will want to help you out when it comes time.

Good luck getting a job at the airlines without networking.  It is first WHO you know, then what you know, and not the other way around.

Seniority
Being a pilot is a career of 'starting over' every time you switch companies.  It doesn't matter if you were a captain on the 787 and have 50,000 flight hours; if you go to another company, you will start back at the bottom as a first officer.  For this reason, be picky in your company selection.  Don't just go to the first company that will hire you- make sure you can be happy there.  Most people only work for 2-3 airlines in their entire career.

If you decide to work for the airlines, seniority is not your friend in the beginning, but it is awesome once you have some!  You can get the schedules you want, you'll begin to make decent money, and your quality of life will increase dramatically.  Which brings me to my next question...

Quality or Quantity?
What is more important to you- a good quality of life, or more money?  I don't think either answer is right or wrong, it just depends on what your priorities are.  For me, it's always been about quality of life; I would rather have an awesome work schedule and get to see my family as much as possible than to make a few extra bucks.  I plan to stay at the regionals for a few years longer than others because I have such a great schedule that allows me to work but still be true to my priorities.

Being on reserve and having no control over my schedule is one of the hardest things I have ever done; but for others it is no big deal.  In fact, some people bid to be on reserve even if they have the seniority to hold a line!

On the other hand, I've spoken to pilots who don't understand my logic at all; their goal is to upgrade as quickly as possible and then get to the majors asap- because seniority is everything.  The sooner they get to the airline they want to stay at for the rest of their career, the sooner they can start building seniority there.  Some of these pilots only see their families 1-2 days each week because they have crazy reserve schedules and then pick up extra trips to build more time.  Of course there is an end in sight, but it doesn't sound like much fun to me.  However, if that works for you, and you don't mind sacrificing a few years to have the career of a lifetime, then great!  If Quantity is what you want out of life, then go for it!

Flying is an Amazing Career
Like I mentioned earlier, I think flying is the most amazing career!  There are so many different opportunites and career choices to choose from.   If you like to fly, there is a career out there for you.  If you want to look forward to every day you get to work, flying is for you!  If you want a career that is never boring, where you get to meet new people all the time, get to see new places every day, flying is for you!  So what are you waiting for?  Figure out what you want, and then start working towards getting it.  

Do a Preflight, Every Time!

In the beginning of my flying career, I did preflights inspections because I was told to, not because I necessarily saw the importance of them.  I trained at a busy flight school with thorough mechanics, so I didn't really see the need of a preflight.  I mean, I don't do a walkaround before I get in my car, why should the airplane be any different?  Needless to say, I realized the error of my ways and do a walkaround every time!

I didn't have anything too eventful happen when I was in training, but that all changed when I got my Certified Flight Instructor's License (CFI).  I don't think it was bad luck, but things were bound to happen with the amount of flying I was doing each day.  My first instance had to do with checking the tire pressure on the walkaround.  I never did that; well, maybe on the day of my checkrides, but never on a normal training flight.  On this particular day, the tire did need a little bit of air, but I looked at it with my eyeballs, called it good, and me and my student were off for the flight lesson.  I don't remember anything about the flight, but I definitely remember the landing!

I was coaching my student through the approach and landing phase, as he was still learning how to successfully land an airplane.  He did a pretty good touchdown, but then forgot to use the appropriate amount of rudder (or so I thought).  We slowly started drifting to the left of the runway with me saying sternly "keep it on the centerline...where are you going?.... the centerline is over there...More Rudder!"  My student's response was "I have full right rudder in!"  I didn't believe him (lots of students say they have the appropriate amount of rudder when they don't), so I pushed on the rudder with him.  He was right!  Full rudder did nothing.  We must have a flat!

Thankfully we landed on the centerline so we had 75' to drift to the left on our 150' wide runway; and Da20s approach at 60 knots so we were barely moving by the time we touched down.  But once we stopped, still on the runway, we couldn't really move forward with our flat tire.  The mechanics had to come out and change the tire for us on the runway.  I felt bad for the few airplanes that had to go around, and for the time the controllers had to spend switching the runway in use, because I knew that if I'd checked the tire pressure on my preflight inspection, I would  have noticed it was low and this whole situation could have been prevented.  Lesson learned!

This next situation never happened to me, but I was up flying once, and I heard ATC say, "Katana 123NH (I don't remember the exact tail number), we just got a call from the fuelers, looks like you left your fuel cap on the ground by your parking spot."  Ooops!  You do not want to be that person, so make sure you do a walkaround, and check the fuel cap.  I can only imagine how unnerving that would be to do a steep turn and see your fuel gauge drop to zero.  No thanks!  I'll take the 5 minutes and do a preflight walkaroud!

I know sometimes it may be freezing outside, or outrageously hot, or maybe you are short on time, but you will never regret the time you took to do a thorough preflight.   You will only regret the times when something negative happened because you forgot to.  So do a preflight, every time!