Your first major milestone en route to becoming a professional pilot is called the Private Pilot Certificate — better known as the “license to learn”. The FAA requires a minimum of 40 hours to accomplish this feat and by the time you achieve it, you know just enough to squeak by safely. But to find yourself in the co-pilot seat of an airliner requires many more hours and proof of determination and skill. As one of my flying mentors once said, “this is an endurance game” and he was so accurate. It is not an easy path. The romantic dream of arriving at JFK Int’l Airport in uniform, approaching your jet, stepping into the cockpit and firing up the engines only comes true after a lot of perseverance and even then, it’s constant work to maintain the ability and the right to do it for many years. For most pilots, there are 2 routes to this goal — fly in the military or become a flight instructor for several years. I chose the latter, which requires teaching new pilots how to fly and is an exercise in patience, self-growth and strong survival instinct. This is me working on my Certified Flight Instructor certificate from the right seat of a Piper Cherokee.
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