So You Want a Summer Job?

About a year ago, a year after I graduated High School,  I got a text from Garret Willat that read “you want a summer job?” which is quite comical looking back because he probably didn’t think I’d say yes. But I did, and a countdown was started to get to SkySailing in Warner Springs, California, get my Commercial and CFIG check rides done, and start getting paid to fly! I am writing this article to let people know what my first tenuous steps as a new CFIG looked like from my perspective, as well as to encourage people who might not have previously considered getting this rating to go out and snatch it for themselves!  Additionally, I would like to encourage people to get out of their comfort zone.  Go out and try other places to fly, and learn from the locals at each place.  It will make you a much better pilot! 

Texas Plains to Southern California Ridges

A brief background of my glider experience before moving to Warner Springs could be described as “flat land soaring”. I usually fly out of Texas Soaring Association in Midlothian, TX and for anyone who has flown there knows that you can practically trim for landing speed, pull spoilers out, and you will end up in a beautiful field with Grandma Jane offering you sweet tea and some shade. Well, maybe not that convenient, but you get my drift. Usually, we have cumulus filling the sky in any direction and oftentimes beautiful cloud streets are a result. Fast-forward to arriving in Southern California.  Suddenly, I am looking at the mountains all over and thinking to myself “I’m not in Kansas (Texas?) anymore!”  Quickly, I realized that these mountains and ridges around the airport offered soaring on days that Texas couldn’t! Ridge lift was an incredible experience and allowed my student and me to work on skills for much longer than a normal training flight. Often times, the thermals would favor the landscape better and lift would usually be found first due to the dark colors and sunward facing sides, etc, which allowed for take-off times to become 11 AM or so compared to 12:00 or 12:30 in Texas. In short, what I was once skeptical of, and rightfully so because I had no experience flying around varying landscape, I learned that soaring becomes much more available to the glider pilot when you are given this terrain and these conditions!

Instructing

When I got my CFIG, I thought that teaching people how to fly gliders would be a pretty straight forward thing. “See that plane in front of us that we attached our tow-rope to? Just stay behind him, and we will release when we are high enough.”

“See that yaw string out there? Just keep it straight!”

“See that take-off area? Just land the glider and plan to have us stopped right there!”

Are you starting to see where I may have overestimated the ability of the student that has three flights? I quickly learned that every student is different and will naturally be great at some maneuvers and need more help than usual on others. Some are retired Navy and Delta pilots that you can explain things in more depth, and others that have no aviation experience what so ever, you have to sometimes use examples other than aviation to get them to understand the big picture you’re trying to teach. I quickly learned that in the first few flights you can start to develop an understanding of the student's personality, experience, and ability to learn and start to teach based on those factors.

The Takeaway

This past summer was a learning experience that made me a better pilot while having lots of fun doing so. If you have ever thought of getting your CFIG, I would highly recommend it! The soaring community needs more instructors. Also, if you have the chance to fly out of an airport that is different in terrain than what you’re used to, I also highly recommend you do so. It can prove to be incredibly fun and rewarding and will help prepare you for that future contest you fly in that isn’t in your home field.

Collin Shea soloed at 14 years old in 2014 and hasn't looked back. He currently has access to a Standard Cirrus "ML" thanks to Eric Anderson from Texas Soaring Association. If he is not in a glider he can usually be found in a tow plane or his father's Stinson 108-2. He has plans to return back to Southern California and tow banners across the beaches for the weekend and instruct, tow, and give rides at SkySailing in Warner Springs during the week.