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gahorN
11-28-2007 16:23:10
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Ya never know who you're meeting these days....
Some of you know I am a Hawker I.P. at a flight training facility at DFW. I"ve had a fun career so far getting as far as I have, and as a civilian I've been blessed/cursed to carry plenty of interesting and sometimes famous/infamous passengers. Many politicians and foreign dignitaries... (U.S. VP and ambassadors, a "First Lady" or two, senators, etc., entertainers, etc,... and one or two foreign heads of state)... and many more "common folk" that deserved greater recognition ...
Regardless of the actual personage I've always tried to do my best job as an aviator and I've never been one to be too impressed or distracted by it. At no time have I ever asked for or received any recognition or momentos such as autographs, photo's, etc. etc. from any passenger, no matter what their status or fame. I've never wanted to impose upon those that I admired... and I've never wanted any momentos of those I didn't.
For the last few days I've been doing my regular job as a Hawker instructor. I have been teaching a couple of fellows in the 800/XP simulator in hot-high operations, rapid depressurization/emergency descent, windshear encounter, various and sundry abnormals and failures/emergencies. And finally, late last night, I was assigned the task of their final preparation for their "Type rating" check ride. I actually administered simulated check-rides as if I were the assigned examiner (which is another of my authorized duties sometimes) and so I spent about four hours working out their last few "kinks" and polishing them up for this stressful and important event.
One of the clients, Ron,... was a stocky, muscular guy, ... soft-spoken and with a twinkle in his eye.
The other (we'll call him "Jay") was a young, self-confident and somewhat assertive pilot with the title "chief pilot" of his company's flight department. He had been with the company for some time and had no qualms about letting me know of his many type ratings and aeronautical degrees, and whenever possible he would proffer engineering explanations for simple flying techniques or systems I might be explaining. Jay also showed no patience with his newly-hired crewmember, and I almost had the impression he would set Ron up for a troublesome failure, if possible with a distraction, ... when it would be far easier to simply correct a dial's setting or re-program a push-button during a busy time.
At the beginning of our time together a couple days ago I did my usual introductions... usually introduce myself, tell a little about myself and family and a short bio about my background... and then I invite the clients to do the same.
Jay was forthright as I've mentioned. Ron was quiet, modest, and offered very little other than he'd flown helicopters for the Marines. He didn't say much more about that, but he showed a bit more enthusiasm talking about his wife and family and his new job opportunity... and he openly admitted he had no jet time previously and was concerned about his ability to do well on the upcoming check ride.
I've spent the last two days clearing up some operating techniques and systems misunderstandings, and I've worked hard to help him improve his general skills in this new-to-him airplane that he'll be flying in an unfamiliar-to-him environment. (I specifically recall telling him not to expect the kind of support he's accustomed to in the Marines ... in the civilian world... I spent some time offering suggestions on how to prepare for flight operations as a civilian.) I spent a lot of time trying to assure him that I wasn't going to recommend him if I didn't think I'd prepared him completely for his check ride... not to worry about self-critique too much... let me do the critiqueing... "it's what I do!", I said.
Well..... last night after some late-night, last minute corrective instruction, I recommended them for their check rides. Jay was still cockily self-assured and unhelpful to his crewmember. Ron was still self-effacing and modestly hopeful he'd pass the ride.
Early this A.M. I received a "Thank You" note from Ron. He'd passed his check ride, and was proud of his first civilian Type Rating in his first Jet! And he was grateful to me for my assistance in his learning the airplane. As a token of his gratitude, he sent along a picture of him in his last helo-flying job in the Marines...
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What a nice guy. (Ron Alvarado is the only guy I've ever asked for an autographed photo and I'm not the least bit ashamed!) I'm proud of him!
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