How far would you go for jet time?

[CorpLearDriver]

I agree Prescott was a great place to live (well I loved it anyhow, the way it was 15-20 years ago)... I just can't imagine working as a CFI at Riddle for 15 years after graduation... Hey, to each their own... But in the eyes of future employers, they gotta wonder why he didn't try to advance himself...

I wouldn't. Timing, responsibilities at the time, a lot of things could factor in. Some people just have different priorities in life and like you said, to each his own. I was with one company for over 14 years that most pilots used as a jumping off point to move on to other jobs. Then I went through a couple of fairly quick job changes and now I find myself wandering all over the world. Each person's career course is their own. We should not judge them by where we are or what we would have done.

I once knew a CFI/Examiner out of Fullerton, CA, Travis Flanery, that had some 30,000+ hours, most of which was instruction given. He had tried other jobs but always came back to instructing because that was what he enjoyed the most. And he was in a community at the airport that loved him until the day he died.

 

[eljefe]

II once knew a CFI/Examiner out of Fullerton, CA, Travis Flanery, that had some 30,000+ hours, most of which was instruction given. He had tried other jobs but always came back to instructing because that was what he enjoyed the most. And he was in a community at the airport that loved him until the day he died.

Reading that made me smile. I knew a guy like that too....at Daniel Field in August, GA. When I knew him in the 60's he had 25,000+ hours of dual given. The guy was amazing.

He obviously found his niche and aviation was the better for it.

 

[CorpLearDriver]

He obviously found his niche and aviation was the better for it.

We should all hope to be so blessed.

 

[banned username 2]

I wouldn't. Timing, responsibilities at the time, a lot of things could factor in. Some people just have different priorities in life and like you said, to each his own. I was with one company for over 14 years that most pilots used as a jumping off point to move on to other jobs. Then I went through a couple of fairly quick job changes and now I find myself wandering all over the world. Each person's career course is their own. We should not judge them by where we are or what we would have done.

I once knew a CFI/Examiner out of Fullerton, CA, Travis Flanery, that had some 30,000+ hours, most of which was instruction given. He had tried other jobs but always came back to instructing because that was what he enjoyed the most. And he was in a community at the airport that loved him until the day he died.

That's exactly why I said "To each their own..." But it appears that CFIing wasn't his dream, as he is now working for Clay Lacy (voluntarily), but then again, changing jobs is rough, and sometimes people get into that "comfort factor" that is hard to give up... I went back to campus 7 years after graduation (right after I started my current job) and found out my RA was still working their as a CFI... I think he has since moved on...

Like I said in another thread, if I could find that secure, 2 day a week, King Air 300 job in Iowa paying $175k a year, I'd be all over that in a heartbeat as well. I know quite a few people who would think I was nuts to do that... I'm not holding my breath on finding that one, so until then, I'll stick to flying the G-V, because it pays the bills...

 

[CorpLearDriver]

That's exactly why I said "To each their own..." But it appears that CFIing wasn't his dream, as he is now working for Clay Lacy (voluntarily), but then again, changing jobs is rough, and sometimes people get into that "comfort factor" that is hard to give up... I went back to campus 7 years after graduation (right after I started my current job) and found out my RA was still working their as a CFI... I think he has since moved on...

Like I said in another thread, if I could find that secure, 2 day a week, King Air 300 job in Iowa paying $175k a year, I'd be all over that in a heartbeat as well. I know quite a few people who would think I was nuts to do that... I'm not holding my breath on finding that one, so until then, I'll stick to flying the G-V, because it pays the bills...

Well, hopefully one day that job will come along for ya'.

 

[HMR]

But in the eyes of future employers, they gotta wonder why he didn't try to advance himself...

Good point.
There's a career progression that's considered "normal". Being a CFI for 15 years then jumping into the right seat of a Lear 25 isn't normal. Neither is flying around the pattern in a 172 for 30,000hrs. I know guys like this. They aren't loveable experts about aviation; they're weird. Every 5,000+hr "Chief Instructor" I've ever worked under or known has had some social problem that's caused them to be stuck in an entry level position.

 

[CorpLearDriver]

Good point.
There's a career progression that's considered "normal". Being a CFI for 15 years then jumping into the right seat of a Lear 25 isn't normal. Neither is flying around the pattern in a 172 for 30,000hrs. I know guys like this. They aren't loveable experts about aviation; they're weird. Every 5,000+hr "Chief Instructor" I've ever worked under or known has had some social problem that's caused them to be stuck in an entry level position.

This guy may well be as you say "weird." But unless you know him personally, you can't say it is a certainty. And as far as people flying around in Cessnas for 30,000 hours, in the 70's when I learned to fly, there were a lot of folks that fit that mould. It may seem odd now, but it wasn't then. Deregulation of the airlines hadn't taken place yet and movement in the pilot ranks was dead slow if not non-existant. So instructing paid the bills.

 

[Ace-of-the-Base]

Good point.
There's a career progression that's considered "normal". Being a CFI for 15 years then jumping into the right seat of a Lear 25 isn't normal. Neither is flying around the pattern in a 172 for 30,000hrs. I know guys like this. They aren't loveable experts about aviation; they're weird. Every 5,000+hr "Chief Instructor" I've ever worked under or known has had some social problem that's caused them to be stuck in an entry level position.

Oh no. Now you're sounding like me. You're gonna get your a$$ chewed for that one. Just remember, leave English alone, she's under my protection.

Ace

 

[XTW]

If I knew who that was I'd send him some knee pads and maybe a bigg bottle of KY.

What makes this quote the best, is that when combined with the poster's avatar, it makes you say, "Hmm".

 

[aeronautic1]

I was just reading the "day in the life" article in the new issue of AIN. I almost spit out my gum when I read the part about this guy. Background: He shows up at Clay Lacy in VNY for a 9am flight in his Lear25 only to find out it's been rescheduled to 6pm.

"With more than 8 hours until the next flight, (name removed) might be expected to return home, except that home is in Prescott, Ariz. A 1990 graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University there, he worked as a flight instructor until five months ago, when Clay Lacy hired him to fly the Learjet right seat. Now he thinks in Mach numbers and flight levels rather than in knots and feet.
(Name removed) drives the 12-hour round-trip commute from Prescott to Van Nuys about three times a month."

WOW!
How much does Lacy pay to fly right seat in a Lear 25? (Not much)
Have you ever poked your head into one of Lacy's Lear 25's? (Not good)
Is the job market really this bad?

This should make the cover of Pro Pilot soon.

ERAU Grad... enough said!!