Ok, this is funny! I walked into a flight school in Ottawa to see what kind of price I would be looking at to get checked out on a club airplane (I want take my kids and their friends up for a birthday "adventure".) I proceeded to ask questions about their policy and such. This guy tells me I have to complete a full 5 day ground school and 2 hrs dual. I have zero issues with the dual time...but a ground school!! This is were it gets funny, this guy whom I will not name, has a young wide eyed bunch of ppl students sitting near by. He then proceeds to put himself on a pedestal, he tells me how I should work towards a career as a flight instructor, then looks over at these kids and tells them that "flight instructors net all the babes!" To clarify, he is dead serious! He then nods to this young bunch and says he makes more $$$ than a captain at Porter and mentions he has double the skill. At this point I've had enough. I take the guys card and leave and head to another club. I should mention when I went in to check prices, I did not mention my credentials, I was just a licenced pilot looking to take up my family for a few hours.
Ok, a flight instructor can be a career if you so choose, I'm not knocking it at all. It was however classless that he try and fool these young kids into following that path...not to mention me! I suspect this fellow (mid to late 30's) will not go much further than a flight instructor.
Last note, as I was walking out the door I bumped into an old friend I used to work with, he looks at this instructor and says.."make sure you get this guy a CV, they operate a great corporate flight department!" lol, it was perfect! I looked at him with a slight smile and left.
I know, this is a pointless story but had a good chuckle. A lesson to the young people, this business is very small so be careful how you act and be mindful of the dreaded pilot ego!
Thanks for your card friend!
"Six of us broke formation, five Jerries and I". - George "Buzz" Beurling
