Give up aviation? No way! I knew that this day was coming. I've always wanted to fly as long as possible, so a few years ago I started soaring because no medical certificate is required. Soaring is an enjoyable experience that provides an excellent education in micro-meteorology. I continued until cross-county soaring became the next step. When I was told that I needed handheld radios and a ground crew with a glider trailer, I said forget it. I wanted to simplify my life, not complicate it.
Shortly thereafter, the FAA changed the medical requirements for flight instructors. Now, I could instruct with no medical certificate providing that I was not acting as pilot in command. To be pilot in command, I only needed a third class certificate. Now I knew that I'd be able to fly, and teach, much longer than I ever imagined. I immediately started talking to the owner of a local flight school who was already aware of my experience as a chief instructor and manager at three FAA-approved schools.
The years that I spent learning to fly, flight instructing, teaching ground school, and flying for the U.S. Army and the airlines fulfilled a deep-seated ambition, but there was another side to this career. The peculiarities of bureaucracies, big business, and big labor frequently made no sense whatsoever. And it's amazing how some people-who are extremely fortunate to be where they are-do nothing but complain or become self-appointed experts in areas in which they have little, if any, experience. In some cases, it becomes the blind leading the blind.
The day after I left the airline, I started working at the flight school. This is an enjoyable change of pace, and for the first time in years, my suitcase is locked tight, and I'm not sleeping next to a hotel's ice machine or elevator.
The enthusiastic instructors with whom I work are a reflection of me 40 years ago. Sure, they want to move up the aviation ladder-and they will-but while they work toward their air transport pilot certificates, they are learning as only teachers can learn, and they are able to benefit from my experience.
As an airline check airman, I checked out many new pilots who had not flown jets or heavy aircraft. This experience gave me some interesting insights. Once the rust has been polished off flight instructors' flying skills, they rapidly reach a higher plateau than most non-instructors. And they most certainly have better crew resource management (CRM) skills because, to survive as a flight instructor, you must be able to work with people and motivate them.
I also noted that graduates of some university and community college aviation training programs lacked the proper aviation education. Their training, from the beginning, was oriented toward multipilot cockpits and airline procedures. This is a big mistake, because basic flying skills and single-pilot thinking are prerequisites for moving up to bigger equipment.
General aviation pilots who desire a professional flying career should be proficient at single-pilot instrument flight operations and procedures. They must never lose this skill and the related mental posture. In a two-pilot airplane, you have another pilot to help share the duties, which provides an additional level of safety. But to keep from busting your rear end, and in particular to check out as a captain, you must think as you do when flying solo. That self-reliance is your most important asset for a safe flight.
If you are a retiring pilot with a reasonable amount of general aviation instructing experience, I hope you'll do what I did. Come on back! General aviation needs your experience, and believe me, it's fun and very rewarding.
