Back to the GA World

Before today,  it had been 1,324 days since I flew a single engine airplane.  In 2012 I was hired by a regional carrier and completed my last flight as a single engine certified flight instructor (CFI) on August 4, 2012.  It was hard for me to leave flight instructing, as it was my passion, but I had to give the airlines a try.  Maybe I would like the lifestyle more?  Maybe I would become a better pilot?  Maybe I would LOVE the travel benefits?  Plus, it had always been my goal, and I knew then was the perfect time for me to give it a try.

It is now 3 1/2 years later, and I still absolutely LOVE flying at the airlines.  I started at the company flying a turboprop, but last year transitioned over to the jet.  The benefits of working for an airline are pretty fantastic- free flights, great health insurance, traveling all over the place and getting paid to do it, and [after the first year] making more as an airline pilot than I ever did as a CFI.  I would never leave the airlines to go back to a full time flight instructor, position but I do miss teaching!  I have seen people do some pretty incredible things, so why couldn't I do both?  Be an airline pilot and a CFI?

Last week was my last flight at the airlines before I left on maternity leave.  I wasn't ready to go, but sitting for 8+ hours was getting incredibly uncomfortable (as in, my entire body would be sore by the time I got to the hotel each night), and using the lav more than once on a 2 hour flight is quite inconvenient.  I have had so many people tell me to take this time to just relax... you mean laze around?  Not my style!  So I found a great flight school near me and got checked out in their little Piper Warrior today.  I had a mix of emotions in that one hour flight, I thought I'd share... maybe some of you have felt the same way.  But we don't just give up when things are a bit out of our comfort zone- we push through it until we are great, and then we keep on going.

Before I left for my checkout flight this morning, I was a bit nervous/excited.  Nervous because "what if I fly the wrong airspeed, or approach the runway too high, etc, etc."    I am a recovering perfectionist and sometimes I am my own worst enemy.  I finally realized, however, that I WAS going to make those mistakes.   I WAS going to fly too fast at some point; I WAS going to have an imperfect traffic pattern, because mistakes are a part of learning.  Also, I hadn't been in a small plane in years, it's ridiculous to think I could just get in the plane and fly it perfectly- nobody can do that.  In aviation, we all make mistakes, but we learn from them, fix it, and move on.

My first traffic pattern was all over the place (at least in my opinion)!  I was late on the flaps, high on final, and ended up just doing a go-around (ain't no shame in that).  My CFI showed me the second traffic pattern and approach to landing and I thought she was going to kill us- "Whoa... why is she waiting so long to level out and flare... she can see the ground, right???"  But her landing was right on the money- perfect level out and flare.

She handed the controls back to me and I was on my own now.  However, during my first full traffic pattern, approach, and landing, these thoughts did cross my mind "it's easier to just sit at home; why am I doing this to myself?  why am I making myself learn to fly a small airplane again?  this isn't fun;  I'm not good at it; I miss my jet."  If you have ever had these kind of negative thoughts enter your mind, GET THEM OUT IMMEDIATELY.  You will be so much happier after you accomplish your goal instead of just giving up.  You will have more to look forward to each day.  You will feel better about yourself.  It will all be worth it in the end.  Once I told myself I could do this, each landing got progressively better.  They still aren't perfect, but that will come.

I did seven more landings after hers, and by the end, I was feeling pretty good about myself.  I took myself out of my comfort zone and did something that was hard for me (hard for me because I wasn't perfect at it).  I think every pilot going through training feels this at some point, and that's okay... as long as you recognize it and keep pushing forward.

During my flight instructor days I saw so many students try to give up after a bad day of flying.  I often wondered why they were so hard on themselves, because I had forgotten what it's like.  But now I remember.  I am glad I got to experience those emotions again today, because I will understand what my students are going through, and how they feel when they don't have the perfect day of flying.  I'm excited to start flight instructing again, and can't wait to  make a difference.