One week down

So training has been tough. Today is our first day off in 8 days, and what a stressful 8 days it has been.

The class is great, informative, and casual. However, every day there were small quizzes which required an 80% to pass. Knowing you had to study for those things every night was stressful. Then, on Saturday we had the last class before the giant 80 question indoc test and got off a little earlier so we could maximize our study time.

That night, we all took about an hour or two off and began studying. We started at about 9 PM and went until 3AM. Needless to say, we busted our ass.

But we passed! Everyone scored above 92% and that felt pretty good. Apparently no class has done that well in 2 years. So we are pretty excited and went out last night. Food, strip club, etc. bad things.

Anyway... Sims start tomorrow and they are going to be rough. But i think it won't be as stressful as the ground session. We'll see... only 3 weeks left until I'm freight doggin it.

Training

Training starts today! After 16 long hours of driving yesterday and Saturday, I'm finally here and ready to roll with the first day. Its exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time. All the guys that I've met so far are real nice and the accommodations are good. Two of my old college buddies are still in the city so we hung out for a little while last night. It was good seeing some familiar faces.

Well.. 2 hours till I crank it up. It feels so good to be employed right now!

New Job

So I'm currently in the backseat of a car. No, wait... a BMW. I tell you because it apparently matters to some people what kind of car they drive... that's another story though. Anyway, we are headed to Dallas to celebrate my girlfriend's 21^st birthday. It will be a weekend of expensive clubs, travelling around a city that I can't stand because of its blatant consumerism. I'm really not a liberal guy, and I honestly vote republican most of the time. But I am feeling incredibly anti-establishment right now because of this trip. Dallas is probably the most stuck-up-its-own-ass city that I've ever been do, and I think it changes people when they go there. This place holds some significance for me.

Less than two months ago, I went to my first job interview in the city of Dallas for a job with American Eagle airlines as a First Officer. Luckily, I got the job. It was a great experience and I was excited to become an airline pilot. Needless to say, Gas jumped to somewhere in the neighborhood of $130/barrel, and I lost that job before I got on the property. Strike 1 for dallas.

One month ago today, I took my second real job interview with Comair airlines out of Cincinnati, OH. I enjoyed what I saw of Cincinnati, and I also went in and got the job with Comair. While I was very excited to start, I had learned my lesson with AE and decided to interview at a freight company. I was pretty confident that Comair was going to work out, so I didn't study extra hard for the interview. I went in with a smug look on my face about already having a job, but I left realizing that I respected these people for the job that they did. I was hired 3 days later. But, once again, fate knocked down my plans.. Some legal battling with Mesa and Pinnacle as well as some... questionable... hiring practices took me out of my second class date with Comair. I was now sitting in a pool at a freight dog operation and two airlines with no idea which way was up. Dejected, I left for LA Tech.

I was convinced that I was destined to be a CFI forever and never build any more time outside of a Cessna 172. But three days after starting my job and getting resettled into the right seat, the freight company called me with news of a class date. Thus, in two weeks, (the closest I've come to a class date) I will be driving up to begin training as a freighter pilot.

And for the third time, I've devoted my hopes to making it. I won't be a skeptic while I wait. Now, I'm pretty excited to be going over to fly single-pilot multi-engine freight getting 1000 hours a year. But honestly, this wasn't my first choice. Two months ago, I was going to be an airline pilot. And yeah, it sounds bad. But I wanted the “glamor” that was left in airline flying. I wanted to be the sharp-looking guy walking around the airplane... at least one time. But you know what? I realized while I was botching my interview at the freight operation that airlines were not for me. I'm too much stick and rudder, too much airmail pilot, too much seat of the pants. Moreover, this job is more stable than any regional airline could ever be. Once I get on property, I won't be worried about this job. CJ is worried he could lose his new regional job in 3 months. I have other friends in the same boat. I feel bad for them, but I am glad not to be at a regional right now.

Anyway. I'm obviously excited about my new job. But truthfully I am as worried as I am excited. Now I have to go through training, pass, and then find may way across America at night, by myself, through any weather possible, in a high performance twin loaded down with who knows what. How do I adjust to the nighttime schedule? Are my personal relationships going to suffer? How will I function without sunlight? I'm ready to give it a shot, but I'm nervous as hell about it. For now, I'm instructing for two more weeks, then departing to start a new life. Lets hope new life class stays on schedule.