Belok owns a Cleveland, Ohio, company that sells and manufactures industrial saws. He also owns an Aero Commander 520 twin based at Medina Municipal Airport. Twice a week Belok uses the Aero Commander to deliver equipment and call on customers in distant cities. The Aero Commander is a single-pilot airplane, but Belok always flies with a second pilot - an area flight instructor looking to build multi time. It's Belok's way of helping young pilots jump-start their careers.
The practice began several years ago when a Medina instructor, Bob Jake, approached Belok about flying with him to build hours and experience. Jake understood the value of getting real-world, cross-country IFR flying exposure. He told Belok he would have no trouble finding other CFIs eager to do the same, even though there was no pay involved.
"Bob told me guys would kill to go with me," Belok says, but he wasn't convinced. When he makes his trips, Belok typically devotes the day to visiting customers, and he couldn't see a young flight instructor giving up an entire day just to get in a few hours of flying. He was wrong.
Jake flew extensively with Belok, and was hired by a regional air carrier. Belok then began inviting other Medina flight instructors to fly with him. Like Jake, several have used the experience to help launch their careers. Three more went to regional carriers, three were hired by corporate flight departments, and three have gone to work for fractional operators.
Belok's current copilot is Timothy Bennett, a graduate of Comair Academy in Florida who returned to the Cleveland area to instruct at Medina. Bennett was recommended to Belok by Eric Olsen, who manages the airport and flight school. That was about two years ago. Bennett has since logged more than 200 hours of multiengine time flying with Belok, and he can't say enough about the experience, or about his mentor.
"He really is a super guy," Bennett says. "He's made a huge difference in my career. I now have a bunch of multi hours on my r�sum� instead of just 25 that I had to beg. If I had to pay for all that time it would have cost me $32,000 or $33,000."
Every Tuesday morning, Bennett and Belok depart Medina for the one-hour flight to Columbus, Ohio, returning in the late afternoon. Thursdays they make the nearly three-hour round-trip to Cincinnati. Once every eight weeks they log another three hours flying to and from Huntington, West Virginia. "It's great training as well as good for my logbook," says Bennett. The airplane is night- and IFR-equipped and certified, and Belok and Bennett routinely use those capabilities. "It's like flying for an airline. We are flying every week and on regular routes. It's like an internship."
The hours and experience are invaluable for Bennett, but the airplane also is an attraction. Belok's Aero Commander is a 1953 model 520, just the ninety-sixth of some 2,000 piston and turboprop Twin Commanders that were built between 1951 and 1985. It's a big, brawny airplane with a tall tail, big engines mounted on the high wing, and a generous cabin with a rear passenger door. The big door and large cabin are primary reasons Belok chose the 520 after operating five other airplanes. He has removed the passenger seats and rear bulkhead to accommodate his industrial cargo.
Along with its big-airplane aspirations, Belok's Aero Commander has a colorful history. A previous owner acquired it at auction from the U.S. government after it was confiscated from drug runners. Small aluminum patches on the nose cover several bullet holes acquired during its nefarious past.
The cockpit has distinctive ram's-horn yokes mounted on heavy pedestals; an array of engine and system switches on an overhead panel; hydraulically actuated gear, flaps, and nosewheel steering; and airline-size windshields.
Along with real-world business flying, Bennett has received an education in careful engine management. The Aero Commander's 435-cubic-inch, 260-horsepower, geared piston engines require a deft touch on the throttles. Rapid, gross changes in power can damage the complex gearing and counterweights that reduce engine rpm from about 3,400 (cruise power) to typical propeller rpm.
Given the expensive consequences of mishandling the engines, Belok couldn't be blamed if he restricted his CFI crewmembers to handling the yoke only while he managed the power. That is not the case, however. They do all the flying as pilot in command. "I've had no problems with their skill level," says Belok. In fact, he has nothing but compliments for the young instructors.
"Transitioning pilots into the airplane hasn't been much of an issue," he says. "The guys who come out of the flight schools - they want to fly," he says. "It's their goal in life. They've spent lots of money getting to this point. They are not goof-offs. Most are very punctual. What they say they are going to do, they do."
Belok's motivation for offering a front seat to flight instructors is straightforward. "Just to help them out," he says. "They need the time. Plus, it's nice in IFR conditions. You really like someone sitting next to you who really knows what's going on. This helps them out, and it helps me out. It works for them, and it works for me, too."
Mark Twombly is a writer and editor who has been flying for 35 years. He is co-owner of a Piper Twin Comanche and recently obtained his commercial multiengine rating.
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