Life After FSA

Thanks Tom! I will indeed (keep people informed) if they're interested. Right now I've just got my nose in the manuals, & I plan to do a lot of "hangar flying" to get a better feel for the bird. I'm like a kid counting down the days to Christmas waiting to get to actually fly the thing!

'canfly

What Chunk said.
 
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I will indeed (keep people informed) if they're interested.

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Unfortunately what was supposed to be a career flying Shorts, turned into a short flying career. Although the Chief Pilot hired me, his boss (the Director of Operations) said I didn’t have the flight time they wanted. It’s unfortunate that the only measure of a pilot that seems to count is the amount of hours in the logbook. Oh well, I came real close on this one…I’ll get the next!
 
Awww crap. Sorry dude! F 'em!
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Yeah, thanks man. I just hope the guy that will eventually get the job will enjoy it as much as I would have. It'll probably be a Cape Air guy, as they are pulling out of Naples.

'canfly
 
Well, I find myself gainfully employed again! After the fiasco with mosquito control, I went back to beating the bushes for a job. My efforts were successful, as I am now working part-time as a pilot/mechanic apprentice. I'll be flying right seat in an Aztec on a 135 cert (no autopliot, so SIC is req'd), & turning wrenches when I'm not flying. Also, the outfit I work for does a lot of aircraft brokering, so there may be some ferry flying involved too.

There will certainly be more wrench turning than flying, which is fine. As some of you may know, I'm an A&P student, so I enjoy working on airplanes. I am just very grateful to have a job were I can utilize all of my skills & gain experience that will further my aviation career!

Good luck to all of you that are still out there looking for a job. My thoughts & prayers are with you! With a lot of effort & determination (& luck) it can happen for you.

'canfly

PS: In order to avoid what happened with mosquito control, I delayed the news until I actually worked the job in order not to jinx myself again!
 
What happened to mosquito control? No mosquitos this year?

I remember reading your post about the job.....Sounded cool. Sounds like you found a good gig turning wrenches and flying the az-wreck, at least you're still in the game!! Hang in there...

PS. That azwreck statement comes from a certified Diamond Krap-tana driver. aka the flying tuna can.
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What happened to mosquito control? No mosquitos this year?

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Nah, bumper crop of mosquitos this year. In a nutshell, I was hired by the Chief Pilot after being told to apply by the Training Pilot. Both were well aware of my hours (or lack thereof). It was all well & good until the Director of Operations (not a pilot, at least professionally) decided he knew more than the men he hired to do the flying & said I didn't have the hours needed. Would have been a cool job. Oh well...

I am really excited about the new gig. I'm looking forward to flying the "Aztruck" & building the multi. It's actually on a VFR 135 cert right now, but the Chief Pilot is going for his IFR 135 check ride in the next week or so, so we should be up & running here shortly. The CP is a retired TWA Captain, so I'm really looking forward to flying with him to learn from his experience! As far as turning wrenches, we've got a hangar full of twins with more on the ramp. I feel very lucky to have found a place where I can develop both of my aviation skills & work with really good people.

As far as the "kraptana", it's a plane & your being paid to fly. My FBO stopped doing flight instruction after 9/11 because of the insurance costs, so I won't be using my CFI. We have a 152 that the owner said I can fly for the gas money, so I'll build a lot of cheap time with that! The 'tana looks better that a 152 anyday plus it looks fun to fly.

'canfly

PS I did a run up on a 310 today...it was all that I could do not to take it up for a joyride. Damn! it felt good to look out of the cockpit & see two propeller arcs again!
 
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Congratulations....Horseshoe boy!

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Man, how was I to know I had a second one, must be all that extra fiber in my diet!

'canfly
 
An observation....perhaps not welcome.

Could one of the downfalls of FSA, as opposed to a part 61 background, be a lack of total time? I always tell guys that the 141 ability to get your commercial in 190 hours means nothing because you need the time anyway to get a job. For the same price as a big academy, you can do your commercial under part 61 and walk away with 250 hours instead of 190.

My apology's in advance if this offends anyone.
 
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My apology's in advance if this offends anyone.

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No apology is necessary DE727UPS, it is a fair & valid observation. In the case of mosquito control, it probably wouldn't have mattered. I have 330 hours right now, & whether I got that through Part 61 or Part 141 I still would have been turned down by the DO, albeit with a smaller looming student loan had I gone 61.

I actually started my flight training part 61, my last thing I had to do was fly my long cross country, which was scheduled for September 11th, 2001. Obviously it was canceled, & I headed down to Vero Beach without my Private ticket in hand. But it was partially on the recommendation of the owner of my part 61 flight school that if I was serious about a flying career that I attend FlightSafety.

I have no regrets, I enjoyed my time at FSI, & I feel it provided me with a solid foundation for my flying career. I really don't think that the few hours shaved off the times to earn your ratings at a 141 school is such a big deal, as you pointed out low-timers need all the hours they can get! I chose the 141 route for many other reasons...too many to get into right now as I've got to get going. But regardless of training part 61 or 141, I have found that since being in the job market (in Southwest Florida) that 500 seems to be the "magic" number. I got hired with my most recent gig with less, but I also have the ability (& desire) to work on aircraft.

Just my $.02

'canfly
 
I think that's probably a moot point because few, if any , students walk away with only 190 hours. The syllabus is so jam packed that it's impossible to cover everything in the allotted time. This is especially true when you factor in the long taxi and runup times as you go through 3 or 4 checklist pages of preflight items. And then there are the repeated lessons. I had students who requested repeats to make sure they were ready for their stage checks (not to mention the ones who didn't request them and got them anyway).

Step III in particular seems to breed unsat lessons. The entire ME PP course in 9 lessons (if I remember correctly) is not normally enough to have the student ready for a stage check to FSI standards.
 
Just curious, if you were done with everything, all your tickets, ground etc. and was waiting in line to be called back for CFI(sometime this century!) and you wanted to get more hours, if money wasn't a problem, could you just stick around and rent at FSI? And could you ocassionally get some more recurrent training as time went by? I suppose it would be cheaper to rent at another local FBO also.
 
SkyKing,
Yes you can rent from FSI when you're on the waiting list. Unless things have changed since I was there, once you got on the waiting list you recieved employee rates on rentals and pilot shop items.

I remeber paying something like $60/hr to rent the Cadet (warrior). Even the Arrow with the discount applied didn't seem too bad.

Actually, I am trying to find out if I put some money in an account at FSI, so I could rent a plane sometime next month when I'm down there for vacation. I really miss Florida flying!! I'm getting sick of the traffic and crap weather here in NY!!
 
Baronman you fly out of Republic airport? Are you a instructor? .. I can agree the weather in New York has been bad lately, Im leaving for Flight Safety July 31st maybe I will see you there.
 
Thanks Baronman, that's good info, I appreciate it. I like the idea of reduced rates.

New Yorker huh? Me too sort of. I was born and raised in Queens, Jackson Heights, and had a summer place in E. Quogue, across the backside of what was Westhampton AFB. Those were great times.

If you think the wx bites in NY try flying in Portland Oregon. Clouds and rain most of the time. Don't get too much VFR in. I'm planning on attending FSI fall to winter and look forward to the sunny skies again also. I went to private boarding school in Zellwood and lived in Boca for a year after that. I miss Fla.

Thanks again...
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Baronman,

Fellow Long Islander and FSI grad here. I'm from near ISP and am thinking about coming home to CFI....any opportunities you know of at either ISP, FRG, HWV, or FOK?
 
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