CFI at KELP

[UHBlackhawk]

A 141 school at KELP is looking for instructors. Pay is good; cost of living cheap; owners are straight forward and treat pilots well. They expect the same from you with the students. They understand you may be looking to move on, just let them know ahead of time when you do. If you're looking to just sit in an airplane until you move on, this is not the place. If you want to teach people and learn while building your hours, then this is the place. The flying can be interesting (DA in the summers at field elevation can exceed 8000'); the aircraft are well maintained. There are students waiting.
Phone 915-779-7759

 

[Andrew_VT]

(DA in the summers at field elevation can exceed 8000')

You say this like its a good thing? How many times can you miss the trees by -50' and have it still be considered an educational experience?

(I'm assuming alot i know, i hope you have turbo's and/or ALOT of runway in your trainers)

 

[mtsu_av8er]

You say this like its a good thing? How many times can you miss the trees by -50' and have it still be considered an educational experience?

How could you NOT consider it an educational experience?

It's neither good or bad - it's simply a fact of life in that part of the country!

 

[UHBlackhawk]

You say this like its a good thing? How many times can you miss the trees by -50' and have it still be considered an educational experience?

(I'm assuming alot i know, i hope you have turbo's and/or ALOT of runway in your trainers)

You don't miss the trees by 50'. There aren't any to miss. Also, check the runway lengths at KELP. One of them is 12,000
You plan accordingly when the DAs are that high. We don't use 152s for that reason. And you don't fill the tanks to the brim on the 172 in the summer. You teach pilots DA and the way it will actually affects performance in this area of the country. Instead of just being an intellectual drill, pilots actually get to experience it and learn to deal with it. Sometimes it actually means delaying a flight; or maybe taking off early in the morning or flying in the evening.
Every year it seems a pilot from the East learns this the hard way during the summer in the Desert SW and the Rockies.
It comes down to what you want. If you want to just sit in a seat and build hours, this is not for you. If you want to learn and teach while building your hours, this is a great place to do it.

 

[Andrew_VT]

I was just thinking in terms of a reduced margin of error. Bad memories of an engine hickup after liftoff at gross. Also thinking of the shady flightschool operations that fly for the money when they should really be calling it a day. I shoulda looked up KELP, 12,000 feet is over 3x what I'm used to teaching at.

 

[UHBlackhawk]

I was just thinking in terms of a reduced margin of error. Bad memories of an engine hickup after liftoff at gross. Also thinking of the shady flightschool operations that fly for the money when they should really be calling it a day. I shoulda looked up KELP, 12,000 feet is over 3x what I'm used to teaching at.

The flight school owner would rather park the airplanes than risk them. He is an airline pilot and instituted an airline type FOM (although smaller and easier to read), for the school to improve safety. He would rather turn students away than hire a CFI who can not teach/does not want to learn.
He uses a 310 for twin training. It costs more, but around here it is the only light twin that can handle the DA. We send our CFI students to an aerobatics instructor who takes them out in a Citabria for their spins and unusual attitude recovery training.
Again, it's a good place to work.

 

[Flying Biker]

I was just thinking in terms of a reduced margin of error. Bad memories of an engine hickup after liftoff at gross. Also thinking of the shady flightschool operations that fly for the money when they should really be calling it a day. I shoulda looked up KELP, 12,000 feet is over 3x what I'm used to teaching at.

Having learned how to fly at near sea level some 10 years ago (CLL 321') and then moved up to Colorado Springs (COS, 6100') about 4 years later where I taught for about a year, I say it is a good thing to learn how to fly in high density altitude airports. The school I taught at used 172's with 160hp. There were times that things got interesting on hot days when taking off to the North. High Density airports teach you much more about getting as much HP out of the aircraft you are flying and proper mixture settings. It makes you a more precise pilot with power/mixture/and airspeeds. It is much easier transitioning from higher elevated airports to lower elevated airports then the other way around. It makes you think about power settings instead of getting in and throwing the mixture full rich and maybe once you get around 3000' pulling the mixture back. It is not uncommon to take off around here with the mixture out at least one inch. Going up to Leadville (KLXV 9927') will really keep you on your toes. I have seen my share of accidents in and around this area where pilots do not use the proper technique to setting mixtures and they are all from the low lands. It’s not that they are bad pilots, its just that they were never taught the proper way to setting the mixture.