Flight Training - August 2022 - 41

ADVANCED PILOT DAY IN THE LIFE
BY ALICIA HERRON
VIRTUAL LEARNING
SIMULATOR INSTRUCTORS
MAKE IT REAL
JOHN MARTIN HAS HAD A LONG AND VARIED CAREER, FROM FLYING
thousands of cycles in Pilatus PC-12s and Cessna Caravans, operating his
own aircraft management company, and running a banner tow company,
to occasionally flying for movies such as The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya
Sisterhood. Now, he is a simulator instructor and program manager of the
PC-12 training program at SimCom.
One benefit of sim instruction is its consistency-there's no need to
cancel because of weather and after initial training, customers return for
recurrency. Unlike other pilot jobs, sim instructors are likely to be home
every night, offering a more traditional schedule while remaining involved
in aviation. And since instructors don't have to act as pilot in command, it
is a great option for pilots who may otherwise be unable to instruct.
" When I could no longer fly professionally because of a medical issue
and I decided to get back into the industry, SimCom just happened to
have a vacancy in their PC-12 program. The timing was good for SimCom,
and the timing was good for me, " Martin said.
Sim instructors don't necessarily need time in the aircraft they might
instruct in. Martin said instructors teaching with no real-world experience
in a platform is " quite common in this industry. "
One might think that sim instructors train only one type of student-a
professional pilot on the way to a type rating or completing training for a
job. But that's not the case.
" I've had customers in the 300-hour total time range, I've had customers
with 30,000 hours. I've had customers with zero type ratings and
customers with five certificates because they have so many type ratings
and everything in between. It presents certain challenges, but it also
makes it fun. "
Martin noted that a huge part of simulator flying is preparing for
when things go wrong. " Simulators afford us the opportunity to do
things we can't practice as safely in a real airplane. " He said one of his
JOHN MARTIN
Career: SIMULATOR INSTRUCTOR FOR SIMCOM
QUALIFICATIONS: Commercial with CFII,
ATP preferred
WORK/LIFE BALANCE: Occasionally
works unusual hours such as weekends
and evenings, but with seniority you will
have more control over your schedule.
FAVORITE PART OF THE JOB: When you
see progress in a student and help them
achieve their training goals.
LEAST FAVORITE PART OF THE JOB:
Paperwork. " It's a necessary evil. "
PAY: $75,000 to $100,000 annually for
full-time instructors
favorite parts of the job is preparing pilots for those
unlikely moments and helping them achieve their
training goals.
" Any aircraft is relatively easy to fly when
everything works, " said Martin with a chuckle.
" Unfortunately, not everything works all the time. " FT
alicia.herron@aopa.org
FLIGHT TRAINING AUGUST 2022
41
DAVID TULIS
Flight Training - August 2022

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