So let me tell you a story which might make you smile.
Three or so years ago I got a part-time job doing simulator seat support in the Phenom 300 at CAE. The only reason they took a chance on me with my 11 hours of multi was that I had 1500 hours of tail wheel time in an RV-6. The guy interviewing me threw me into the simulator and said we’re gonna do a V1 cut. I asked what a V1 cut was, and he said just try not to crash.
After supporting 100 sessions, I ended up with a type rating in the jet. That’s the deal, you do 100 support sessions and they let you go through the full course as an actual client. That led to some occasional contract work. On one of those trips, I ended up at Eagle Colorado. As any contract pilot who has been there knows, if you fill up with gas, you get a baseball cap or a T-shirt. I took the T-shirt.
So I’m wearing this T-shirt (with “Vail Valley Jet Center” on it) at Chick-fil-A and the kid behind the counter says, “are you a pilot?“. Occasionally, I say. He says he’s always wanted to be a pilot professionally and that he has a few of his ratings. It’s why he works at Chick-fil-A, to pay for his flight training. So I asked which ones and he spit it out pretty much everything you need to do simulator work. I asked him if he could go get his manager. I asked for permission to talk with the young man for about 10 minutes. He said absolutely.
I told him about the seat support program and what it had done for me, and that I would be willing to put in a word for him. I figured any kid who works at Chick-fil-A already works hard enough to be able to do seat support. They do not hire slackers.
Here’s the amazing part. His manager at Chick-fil-A wrote a one page typed letter for me to give to the hiring manager at the simulator. He went on about how much of a hard worker he was, how he was a team leader, how he never called in sick and how they would be honored to have him as an employee. He knew that he wanted to be a full-time pilot and he was trying to help this kid out. How amazing is that?
I told the training manager at the simulator that this kid wants to come in seven days a week. He will say yes when you call and he lives 10 minutes from the simulator. I will mentor him and give him my study notes. That’s the kind of things they like to hear.
He will knock out enough sessions to get his type rating in two or three months and he’s going to end up flying a jet full-time within six months.
Now here’s the cool part for me. Today I get to go in and support this young man as he’s going through his training to do seat support. He has three more sessions, and he will then be qualified to do seat support in the Phenom 300. I have the honor of being his captain on these three sessions. Today is V1 cuts.
All because I had 1500 hours of tailwheel time in my RV 6.
The young man’s call sign has been chosen:
“My Pleasure“.
MP for short.
Three or so years ago I got a part-time job doing simulator seat support in the Phenom 300 at CAE. The only reason they took a chance on me with my 11 hours of multi was that I had 1500 hours of tail wheel time in an RV-6. The guy interviewing me threw me into the simulator and said we’re gonna do a V1 cut. I asked what a V1 cut was, and he said just try not to crash.
After supporting 100 sessions, I ended up with a type rating in the jet. That’s the deal, you do 100 support sessions and they let you go through the full course as an actual client. That led to some occasional contract work. On one of those trips, I ended up at Eagle Colorado. As any contract pilot who has been there knows, if you fill up with gas, you get a baseball cap or a T-shirt. I took the T-shirt.
So I’m wearing this T-shirt (with “Vail Valley Jet Center” on it) at Chick-fil-A and the kid behind the counter says, “are you a pilot?“. Occasionally, I say. He says he’s always wanted to be a pilot professionally and that he has a few of his ratings. It’s why he works at Chick-fil-A, to pay for his flight training. So I asked which ones and he spit it out pretty much everything you need to do simulator work. I asked him if he could go get his manager. I asked for permission to talk with the young man for about 10 minutes. He said absolutely.
I told him about the seat support program and what it had done for me, and that I would be willing to put in a word for him. I figured any kid who works at Chick-fil-A already works hard enough to be able to do seat support. They do not hire slackers.
Here’s the amazing part. His manager at Chick-fil-A wrote a one page typed letter for me to give to the hiring manager at the simulator. He went on about how much of a hard worker he was, how he was a team leader, how he never called in sick and how they would be honored to have him as an employee. He knew that he wanted to be a full-time pilot and he was trying to help this kid out. How amazing is that?
I told the training manager at the simulator that this kid wants to come in seven days a week. He will say yes when you call and he lives 10 minutes from the simulator. I will mentor him and give him my study notes. That’s the kind of things they like to hear.
He will knock out enough sessions to get his type rating in two or three months and he’s going to end up flying a jet full-time within six months.
Now here’s the cool part for me. Today I get to go in and support this young man as he’s going through his training to do seat support. He has three more sessions, and he will then be qualified to do seat support in the Phenom 300. I have the honor of being his captain on these three sessions. Today is V1 cuts.
All because I had 1500 hours of tailwheel time in my RV 6.
The young man’s call sign has been chosen:
“My Pleasure“.
MP for short.
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