Hillsboro Aviation - CFI interview

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KW

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Went in for an interview for a CFI position last Wednesday.

We had a panel interview with 3 instructors and the chief pilot. They asked a few HR type questions, and then asked what my favorite manuever was. I said Chandelles, so they had me go ahead and teach that to them. They also had me go over the function of a constant speed prop system. They asked a few questions about FOI subjects - laws of learning, levels or learning etc. They allowed us to bring in all of our materials and use them during the interview.

Next there was a written test covering a wide variety of areas - required equipment, light gun signals, draw a precision instrument runway, ADM, VOR service volumes etc.

After that there was a 1 on 1 interview with the flight school manager. This was all HR type questions.

Finally there was a sim check ride in their Frasca 142 simulator. It was setup with a Seminole profile, and they had me fly an IFR departure, perform some steep turns on instruments, and then fly an ILS. Nothing tricky - I think it was mostly just to observe our procedures - things like checklists and altitude call outs.

All the folks there are very nice (I did my training here so I knew most of the people involved which was nice). Anyway, they called me back and offered me the position today. :)
 
Congratulations, man! Pretty promising advice too! for the prospective instructors!
 
Jeezuz Christ! The first "job" I had performing CFI-type duties involved no real interview and no aircraft checkout whatsoever. "Yea, I've flown a 172M before."

My current employer had no technical interview, just a HR type to make sure I wasn't a CFI who thought that I was supposed to get weekends off :). The aircraft checkout put me through the paces on an aircraft type I had never flown before and was concluded with the "Find Ridgely Airpark" exercise. I found it using old school pilotage; apparantly some other applicants have flipped out and have been unable to find it. The air work was probably horrible, but oh well. I must have asked the right questions: "Steep turns? So what's VA on this aircraft?"

If anyone is in the DC/Baltimore area or in the midst of a nationwide job search like I was, and doesn't want their balls busted by a technical interview panel, send me a PM so I can put your resume in.

Mike
 
Draw a precision runway??!! Yikes! :whatever:

I suppose i could pull that outta my butt if I needed to, but that's just not a question I've ever heard!
 
My old instructor got slaughtered in an interview at Hillsboro Aviation a few years ago. He was a sharp guy too. He said at one point in the interview they asked him to draw out the electrical schematic for a Seminole. Not too bad, right? Except he had zero hours in a Seminole...never even seen one up close. "Just do you best," they told him.

Needless to say, he didn't get the job. I doubt he cares now though...he's an FO on a CRJ at Horizon.
 
Congrats! I briefly looked at Hillsboro Aviation. I send them an e-mail a few weeks back about CFI hiring. They said they will be looking at resumes in the near future. How many did they hire?
 
I don't know if they hired any others. Rumor is that they are going to have a lot of business this summer so I wouldn't be surprised if they brought in some more folks.
 
I was looking up Hillsboro Aviation to see where it was and came across the link for them on Airnav. You know how they have user comments in Airnav from people who had experience with the company.

Well, instead of user comments it just says this:

"Hillsboro Aviation has requested that AirNav not collect or publish user comments. For any feedback or customer service inquiries, please contact Hillsboro Aviation directly."

Do they have a bad rep or something that they wouldn't want anyone commenting on them?
 
What is the pay/benefits? I am actually relocating to Portland in about 3 weeks and will be sending my resume to this school as well. Thanks for the gouge.
 
I am from the area and I avoid the arrogant people at Hillsboro Aviation I will not even buy fuel from them. It’s not the instructors that are the problem most all are cool hard working people it’s the management and the way the treat their prospective customers.
 
subpilot said:
What is the pay/benefits? I am actually relocating to Portland in about 3 weeks and will be sending my resume to this school as well. Thanks for the gouge.
Click to expand...

Hey, try Aurora Aviation in Aurora, OR or Gorge Winds in Troutdale, OR they are a bunch of friendly people treat you with respect.
 
KW said:
Went in for an interview for a CFI position last Wednesday.

We had a panel interview with 3 instructors and the chief pilot. They asked a few HR type questions, and then asked what my favorite manuever was. I said Chandelles, so they had me go ahead and teach that to them. They also had me go over the function of a constant speed prop system. They asked a few questions about FOI subjects - laws of learning, levels or learning etc. They allowed us to bring in all of our materials and use them during the interview.

Next there was a written test covering a wide variety of areas - required equipment, light gun signals, draw a precision instrument runway, ADM, VOR service volumes etc.

After that there was a 1 on 1 interview with the flight school manager. This was all HR type questions.

Finally there was a sim check ride in their Frasca 142 simulator. It was setup with a Seminole profile, and they had me fly an IFR departure, perform some steep turns on instruments, and then fly an ILS. Nothing tricky - I think it was mostly just to observe our procedures - things like checklists and altitude call outs.
Click to expand...

HAI needs to get over themselves. :whatever:
 
I had a flight instructor that interviewed at HIA. Got questions like "Draw me the fuel system schematic of the Piper Seminole." Not long after he got hired at ASA, and he said the Hillsboro interview was tougher than the airline's.
 
montanapilot said:
HAI needs to get over themselves. :whatever:
Click to expand...

I was in the Hillsboro area a few weeks ago and decided to check them out. I'd heard good things so I was pretty interested. Turned out to be a pretty bad deal. I've never been talked down to while touring a flight school before. Also, I could never get a straight answer. When I would ask a straight forward question like how much the program costs, I was basically made fun of and belittled because apparently I should've already known that. I wont say the name of the guy I spoke with, but he was extremely unprofessional and acted like the stereotypical used car salesman. I've heard they put out pretty solid pilots, but HIA isn't for me.
 
KW said:
Went in for an interview for a CFI position last Wednesday.

We had a panel interview with 3 instructors and the chief pilot. They asked a few HR type questions, and then asked what my favorite manuever was. I said Chandelles, so they had me go ahead and teach that to them. They also had me go over the function of a constant speed prop system. They asked a few questions about FOI subjects - laws of learning, levels or learning etc. They allowed us to bring in all of our materials and use them during the interview.

Next there was a written test covering a wide variety of areas - required equipment, light gun signals, draw a precision instrument runway, ADM, VOR service volumes etc.

After that there was a 1 on 1 interview with the flight school manager. This was all HR type questions.

Finally there was a sim check ride in their Frasca 142 simulator. It was setup with a Seminole profile, and they had me fly an IFR departure, perform some steep turns on instruments, and then fly an ILS. Nothing tricky - I think it was mostly just to observe our procedures - things like checklists and altitude call outs.

All the folks there are very nice (I did my training here so I knew most of the people involved which was nice). Anyway, they called me back and offered me the position today. :)
Click to expand...
I know it's kinda off the subject but how's the training in Hillsboro Aviation? I've searched about it but I didn't get much info that I needed.
I'm thinking of getting a PPL, IFR and CPL training at HAI but I don't know if I can finish the training courses on time, on budget. I know some of the schools try to rip you off or have poor aircraft maintanence so that postpones the training. What about HAI?
 
KMU said:
I know it's kinda off the subject but how's the training in Hillsboro Aviation? I've searched about it but I didn't get much info that I needed.
I'm thinking of getting a PPL, IFR and CPL training at HAI but I don't know if I can finish the training courses on time, on budget. I know some of the schools try to rip you off or have poor aircraft maintanence so that postpones the training. What about HAI?
Click to expand...

The training here is good. You'll be a safe pilot, and have a solid base for a career. The biggest strength here is probably flexibility. We do 61 and 141 training with a number of different syllabi. We have students who fly occasionally and just want some personal attention from their instructor when they come in, and we have students blasting through a 141 syllabus in a brief period flying multiple times a day with multiple instructors. We have lots of local students, and we have lots of students from Europe and Asia - likewise we have plenty of foreign instructors. We operate from two Class D airports with multiple instrument approaches and lots of pt 91 and pt 135 jet traffic, have a Class C aiport 10 minutes away, and Class B an hour away, so you get plenty of oppurtunities to play with the heavies. You will be real comfortable on the radio working with control towers or approach controls. We also have plenty of uncontrolled airports, paved and unpaved, in the area.

Whether or not you finish a course at the minimums is going to be a matter of how fast you learn, how much you study, and how often you fly. People who study a lot, come prepared to their lessons and who fly 4-5 times a week generally do pretty well. But sometimes people will have trouble with certain aspects of training and need more time in some areas. Another thing you can do to help yourself is to make an effort to ride along with other students whenever possible. YMMV. Weather can also be a challenge - during the summer it's perfect here, but from Oct until May or June is hit and miss. The upside to that is you will log plenty of actual during your instrument training if you do it during that period. If you have a price point you absolutely must hit, there may be better options out there - we charge by the hour and there is no guarantee you'll finish in X hours.

As far as working here, it's a good place to be. You'll have no trouble getting 1000tt/100me in 12 months if you put in the effort. You'll log plenty of actual. You'll get to build plenty of contacts at the regionals and Horizon and Ameriflight both use our Frasca 142 for their interviews. Maintenance is good - I've never had to fly an aircraft I thought was unsafe, and every aircraft I've squawked was taken off the line and fixed asap.
 
Thanks for the feedback. I'm trying to start the PPL course around Jan or Feb but the weather is kinda bothering me. I don't know if I can finish the training on time. In addition, I think the price isn't that expensive compare to other schools around Oregon(running both 141 and 61). I hope they manage their school honestly and eagerly to help the trainees finish their training on time, on budget. BTW. Does HAI operate over the weekends too?
 
I am training there right now and really enjoy the instructors. All of them that I have flown with have been cool There are a couple here and there that are hard to get along with but all in all it is a good place to learn. I agree management can be a big pain. But the airplanes are in pretty good condition. None of them are unsafe but some of them you might want to aviod if you are flying in actual. If you have any other questions pm me.
Seth
 
KMU said:
Thanks for the feedback. I'm trying to start the PPL course around Jan or Feb but the weather is kinda bothering me. I don't know if I can finish the training on time. In addition, I think the price isn't that expensive compare to other schools around Oregon(running both 141 and 61). I hope they manage their school honestly and eagerly to help the trainees finish their training on time, on budget. BTW. Does HAI operate over the weekends too?
Click to expand...


are you kidding me? They are the most expensive school in the entire Portland area by far. If you want to go somewhere that is actually affordable you might wanna check out Twin Oaks, http://www.twinoaksairpark.com. No flight school shenigans and when you instruct there you get a hell of alot more than the $10 an hour HAI will pay you.
 
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