Success Story

Ffloyd Forster, first officer, American Eagle

Ffloyd Forster Beverly, Massachusetts Age: 35 Embraer 145 first officer for American Eagle; ATP, CFII, MEI Total time: 3,000 hours; 1,500 multiengine; 650 turbine

Ffloyd Forster always knew he wanted to fly. Growing up in the Pacific islands of New Guinea and Vanuatu as the son of a veterinarian father and foreign service mother, the Australian native often rode shotgun on island-hopping de Havilland Twin Otters, Britten-Norman Islanders, and Trilanders.

"Flying was a big part of life there because it was the only way to get around," he said, adding that the interest was further fueled by his grandfather, a Wellington and B-24 bombardier in the Australian air force.

At age 16, Forster began skydiving because "I just had to fly." Two years later, in 1991, he began his private pilot training in Warnervale, a suburb just north of Sydney, Australia. For the next seven years, while running his own seafood restaurant and a moving business, Forster flew on and off and earned his wings. In short order, he added commercial airplane and commercial helicopter ratings before becoming a chemical mixer and loader for a cropdusting operation, with the hope of one day flying the spraying airplanes himself.

To build flight time, Forster went on to herd cattle in a Cessna 182 in Australia's unforgiving Northern Territory. The job entailed a lot of low-level flying, long stretches over desolate and rugged areas of the country that offered very little in the way of navigational aids--and more often than not, landing on roads or rocky patches.

"This was a pretty important job as far as my experience goes," he said. "I had to do much of my own maintenance, diagnose problems, and I was by myself out there. I liked the isolation."

In 2004, Forster moved to Syracuse, New York, to be with his new wife, and completed his instrument rating and instructor certificates. In March 2005, he began teaching at Executive Flyers Aviation in Bedford, Massachusetts, where he would remain for nine months before joining Cape Air. The small airline promised new experiences and much excitement. As a captain, Forster flew a Cessna 402 single pilot between Boston, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, and Cape Cod in any weather. "It wasn't nerve wracking but there was a lot to figure out by yourself, no captain to talk to," he said. "The flying definitely kept me proficient. I made sure I never got cornered, or lazy or too relaxed."

A year and a half later, Forster landed a job with American Eagle, flying the Embraer 145 regional jet out of Boston. "It's a very busy place to work," he said. "The pace is quick because we fly in the Northeast, in and out of LaGuardia, JFK, and Washington, and the approaches are always fun. I like that."

Mark Wilkinson is a first officer on the Embraer 145 jet for a regional airline. He began flying in 2004 and lives with his family in Boston.