HondaJet HA420 Preflight, Part 2

Preparation and attention to detail are a big part of success in anything we do, but especially when it comes time to get an airplane ready to fly. This could be you...✈️😎 #p6aviation #hondajet #aviation #change #success

HondaJet HA420 Preflight, Part 1

Watch me preflight the HondaJet from beginning to end ✈️😎

Stabilized approach to firm landing

Stabilized approaches can lead to smooth landings and firm landings, but always safe landings :-)

Becoming a pilot, Part 3

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.

#p6aviation #success #flighttraining #beapilot #aviation #change #adventure #pilots #airplanes #endurance #perserverance #safety

Coming home

Do you ever stop to think about why you do what you do with your life? Being a pilot invokes a lot of feelings. There’s the adrenaline rush of flying fast machines through the air. There’s the satisfaction of becoming one with your machine and dancing with it gracefully. And while taking off is committing to a leap into the unknown, arriving home is warm and familiar. This is us breaking the coastline of Ft Lauderdale on a cloudy night. It’s where I caught the bug for flying so many years ago and still feels like home in a way. #p6aviation  #travel #beapilot #flighttraining #change #success

Becoming a pilot, Part 1

Before I even knew that I wanted to be a pilot, growing up near Ft Lauderdale International Airport, I spent countless hours in a parking lot near Runway 9L listening to the air traffic controllers broadcast over speakers tethered to light poles. I wasn't seeking anything in particular, but I've always been drawn to airplanes and this was about as close as you could get to them.

Unbeknownst to me at the time, I was learning a new language and beginning my journey to becoming pilot in command of a passenger airplane. While most would find sitting in a parked car listening to these repetitive transactions incredibly boring, it was the only place I wanted to be at that moment. Over and over again, I would hear the controller instruct Delta, American, United and others "Runway Nine Left, position and hold" and I would hear an airline pilot repeat the instruction back.
Even though I hadn't yet taken my first flight lesson and didn't even really know that becoming a pilot was within my reach, my subconscious apparently was hard at work painting a picture for me to one day notice. And thankfully, luckily, I was paying attention at the right time in life.

Who's learning how to fly?

Everyone that walks through our doors has 2 things in common -- (1) they've always been obsessed with airplanes and (2) they finally have some time to devote attention and resources towards learning how to fly them.

The COVID crisis has really put a spotlight on the time part of that equation. More flexible work schedules mean that you can still put in 16 hour days, but start/end times don't matter as much, just as long as the work gets done. If you wanted to sneak out to the airport for a flight lesson on Friday morning, that now becomes really do-able.

Also for many, the days of airline travel all week made personal flight lessons simply unrealistic and while we may return to that lifestyle sometime soon, it is not happening anytime really soon. That means there is a lot more time to get to the airport, which is a prerequisite for flying an airplane yourself.

We're also seeing some other unexpected but very cool trends:

- Spouses are becoming very interested in accompanying their partners on the journey, if not to take it all the way to pilot, then to at least learn basic aerodynamics, operations and how to land just in case the situation arises

- Teenagers dealing with the nuances of hybrid or at-home learning are also wanting to turn their passion for airplanes and their time spent on flight simulators into something more tangible and real, like actually physically flying an airplane

No matter your current situation and what COVID has done to upend your lifestyle, it is a unique time to learn how to fly. The benefits to your psyche, your outlook on life and your health are endless -- and these days, we all need to be a little more optimistic about things.

Sometimes it's fun to fly; sometimes it's fun to watch!

Cool St Maarten takeoff perspective. Sit back, relax, and enjoy!