Flight Training - April 2012 - 46

CAREER PILOT»

book ratchets up to 40 minutes and the motivation factor goes down proportionally. That’s how you got in the logbook predicament in the first place. Invest the 10 minutes per week, and your logbook will not be an issue. Filling out your logbook more often also keeps the flights fresher in your memory and provides answer fodder for future interviews. I like to place short notes next to flights in which something memorable happened—an impor-

tant lesson learned, or a mechanical failure in flight, for example. These notes are great for answering those “tell-me-about-a-time” questions that interviewers love. Like logbooks, online applications are also time-consuming, but recruiters at airlines and flight departments consider how often you log in and update your information as a sign of your motivation to work for their company. I set a goal to update all of my online applications every time I com-

pleted a page in my logbook, or once every two months or so. It took about 30 minutes to update them all. Your time may vary depending on how many applications you have out there. While you’re on the Internet, peruse hiring websites like airline pilotcentral.com, fltops.com, and mypilotcareer.com to find the latest information and prepare your answers to the example questions that are posted. Even if the questions are dated or are no longer

CAREER ADVISOR

Should he still pursue the pilot certificate?
» By Wayne Phillips

A TENDENCY TO GET LOST
and physical coordination to ever see a score card with a 72 (except in miniature golf ). So I resigned myself to eliminate golf pro from my life’s ambitions. If your tendency to get lost happens a lot, is it a flaw inherent in the reasoning process or is it based upon external factors such as bizarre traffic patterns and street layout, or a lack of preparation for travel? Learning to fly requires a significant amount of academics and, yes, potential pilots navigation, such as reading and understanding charts, pilotage, VOR navigation, and using an E6B computer and plotter. That CFI will not cut you loose until he or she is certain that you can get from “A” to “B” safely. A thought: Before investing in flying lessons, take a private pilot ground school at a local flight school or community college. See how it goes. There are many good home-study courses available, but a real, live instructor can help you get over the learning humps. Then, do a serious self-assessment. Did you sink or swim? Then make the decision. Is aviation right for you? Your second question has a simple answer. Yes! Get a degree in something. You can carve out an aviation career without one, but you will go further with one.
Wayne Phillips, an airline transport pilot with Boeing 737 and Falcon 20 type ratings, is a B-737 instructor and operates the Airline Transport Pilot Orientation Program. Send your Career Pilot questions to careers@aopa.org and we’ll answer them here.

»Q. If I get lost easily when driving, should I become a pilot? I’ve tried two flights and I enjoyed them both. Also, do I need a bachelor’s degree to go far in the aviation industry? —Kevin G. »A. Kevin, I must admit that I got a chuckle out of your very brief but intriguing questions—especially the first one about getting lost easily while driving. I must speculate that some of our readers may disagree, but there are would-be pilots who probably

IS IT A FLAW INHERENT IN THE REASONING PROCESS OR IS IT BASED ON EXTERNAL FACTORS SUCH AS BIZARRE TRAFFIC PATTERNS?
should consider other pursuits. I believe that learning to fly safely requires a certain amount of physical and mental skill. Many are blessed with such attributes, while some are not. As an example of what I am talking about, I consider myself fairly intelligent and manually skilled. But, I will never be able to crack par on a golf course. I do not have the mental discipline need to have a certain level of mental aptitude. The good news is that, with today’s avionics, including moving-map displays and “direct-to” GPS navigation, getting lost should be the least of your worries. Rest assured that your certificated flight instructor will teach you not only to use the fancy gadgets in your cockpit, but also will train you in the basics of

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Flight Training - April 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - April 2012