Chapter 3 - Cargo Pilot
I've started a new chapter in my life this week. Everything is changing around so quickly and it seems like I'm just along for the ride. I'm excited and but I'm also scared.
I LANDED MY FIRST JOB AS A REAL PILOT!
My training starts Monday June 27 in Yuma Arizona as a Part 135 Pilot for Sun Care Air Ambulance. I'll be flying cargo in a Piper Lance from Phoenix Sky Harbor airport to Kingman, AZ. I know I can handle that little jaunt round the patch. Suncare took over the cargo route from Ameriflight in order to help them transport airplane parts around their various bases in Arizona.
This major change started last week. I received an email from Embry-Riddle saying that Sun Care was hiring. I submitted my resume, and received a phone call the same day. I scheduled my interview at 8AM Monday June 20th with the director of operations William "Bill" Ohara. This gave me the weekend to get my act together and present myself well.
Krystle was nice enough to drive on out to San Diego and meet me Saturday morning to help me study and keep me focused. We met at Gillespie Field in time for my first priority of the day: get a new class II medical. I scheduled my appointment the day before with Doctor Morrisset, the same ol' fogie I've gone to for three years now. Unfortunately he never showed up for the appointment I made with him because he forgot to write it down. If someone was going to pay me 80 bucks for a half hour of work you better believe I won't forget! So I had to reschedule for later on that afternoon, where he checked my pulse to see if I was alive and promptly took my money.
After the medical, Krystle and I headed off to Twiggs Coffee Shop in North Park to do some much needed review of the regs. I checked my email again and got a message from career services at ERAU with all sorts of pointers on how to do well at the interview. I realized then that I didn't have a suit, so I had to get some new threads.
Pilot Buddy Ken Mazzola knew I was in his neighborhood and so after studying we headed off to his pad to study weight and balance weight shift problems. By the time we got done, it was already late so Krystle and I tried to find a hotel in SD. Little did we know that the entire town was booked up. After much driving around, we finally agreed that I had to wake up my parents and ask if we can stay the night. Dad was wonderful, he let us in and made us comfortable even though it was way past midnight.
Sunday was spent running around to acquire current charts & plates, and a new suit, tie & shoes for the interview. We spent a few brief minutes with my Dad & Mom on Fathers day and bonded over Red-Neck TV then Krystle and I headed off to Gillespie Airport again to meet with Andy Hendrickson.
Andy was kind enough to let me use his airplane and fly to Yuma to practice the ILS approach into there and act as safety pilot. It really ended up being a pretty cool flight because we passed over a real old wooden train trestle near Campo and got to watch a train cross over it. Andy thought the trestle was abandoned but seeing is believing. The ILS approach into Yuma went well, I flew the published missed then landed to get some gas in Yuma. Unfortunately, the plane almost wouldn't start back up.
It was real hot there in Yuma, and after getting gas, the engine just didn't want to fire up since it was so hot. We had a little problem with vapor lock and almost ran out of battery power in our multiple attempts to get the prop turning. On our final attempt before the prop wouldn't turn completely around, the engine roared to life. We were all relieved, I didn't want to get stuck in Yuma without my suit, and Andy had to be to work early the next day. A short hour's flight back at night and we arrived safely back in San Diego.
Here's the crazy part, Krystle and I hopped into our cars and drove in formation back out to Yuma! We stopped at the Holiday Inn, and checked in at 2:30 am. I requested a 6:30 am wake up call. Before I knew it, the sun was up and I woke up without the wake up call due to the excitement of going for the interview.
I met with the director of operations, William O'Hara, and he asked me a few questions about what I do, he then looked over my college transcripts & logbook and had me go for a checkout flight with another Lance pilot named Steve. We did a short 1 hr flight around the patch with a VOR/DME Approach into Laguna Army Airfield with a missed approach back into Yuma. Steve told Mr. O'Hara that "I sucked" and immediately they offered me the job. Mr. O'Hara stressed to me that I was only going to get paid peanuts & coffee and I still agreed that it is what I want to do.
So my foot is now in the door. If my life is a book, I'm now in Chapter 3. Chapter 1 would have been childhood & learning to fly, Chapter 2 would be Being a CFI & Marrying Krystle.
