The Dream

I have met many different people while instructing, but there is always one thing that we all have in common. People come to the airport because they love airplanes and they love to fly. Some people are luckier than others. Some get to take lessons while other watch, some get to own their own aircraft while others rent, and some get to pursue the dream of being a pilot of something larger and faster while others have to settle for weekends in a cessna or diamond airplane. A student of mine told me other other night that I was getting to do something that he always wanted to do....become an airline pilot. I suppose I have been fortunate enough in this life to be able to easily attain my ratings, safely fly over 1100 hours, and spend my nights and days at the airport introducing others to aviation. Its a dream of a lifetime, and I am getting to live it....however, I have had to make significant sacrifices enroute to where I am right now. Money is only the tip of the iceberg. CFI's are routinely underpaid, and for what we do on a daily basis it is hard to make a living. CFI's are also routinely asked to put their license on the line while giving instruction and signing logbooks. From students that go out to solo, to people you sign off to fly the flight school aircraft, to people whom you arent even giving instruction but find yourself in the right seat.

I wont go into details right now because of pending legal action, but I can tell you that life isnt fair at times. As a country song I listened to tonite said, "god is great, but life aint always good". An incident took place recently involving an aircraft, a brand new owner and a relatively experienced flight instructor. By the grace of god noone was injured, but a mechanical annomaly caused something very serious to happen. Even though this particular instructor had zero time as PIC in this particular make and model, and the pilot/owner had at least some time in this make and model, the CFI is still going to take the heat. A very unfair practice, but oftentimes takes place in the world of GA. In this situation the FAA hasnt placed blame on the CFI, but other channels are trying to do just that. I am hopeful that this will work itself out, but its still hard to say at this point.

I guess what I am trying to get at is that I have given up alot to chase "the dream", and I work hard and try to be safe in what I do. Its just not fair for me to have to deal with situations such as this, but I guess its part of the gig. I didnt make this bed, but I am being forced to lie in it.

So, any new cfi's out there that are willing to hop in an airplane to log the time be wary. Go get some instruction of your own in new makes of aircraft. A couple extra hours is not worth the heartache and hassle of something mush more serious happening. And those that are out there just flying around on the weekends, enjoy and savour the experience. It gets very routine at this level and some of the magic has left what we do. I would give anything to restore that "feeling" again...the feeling of being excited at flying traffic patterns for an hour or just making a trip to the practice area for a short flight after work. Be safe out there.