Nearly Checkride Ready

After a spectacular flight last Friday, I'm feeling really good about that elusive commercial pilot checkride. It should be noted, however, that the weather on Friday was nearly perfect. No wind, no turbulence and a great pilot... oops, did I type that out loud?

Another event of note is that I spoke with a friend of a friend who happens to be a Cessna Citation CJ3 captain. We spoke for a while and I learned some interesting things. The CJ3 he flies is equipped with the Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 avionics system (see the picture to the right). Here's some other stuff that I found out:

1. You don't have to be type certified in a plane to get hours in that plane as long as the PIC (pilot in command) is typed in that aircraft.

2. Insurance companies require a certain number of hours in type before they'll insure you as the PIC. However, as long as the PIC is typed and has the required hours, the plane can still be insured with you in the cockpit as long as you're not PIC.

3. Getting a job as a corporate pilot is a matter of being in the right place at the right time. Although it's almost a necessity to have a recommendation from another corporate pilot to get into that job market, it is almost exclusively a matter of marketing yourself to the right people.

4. If I'm ever at the Provo airport (KPVU) and I see this guy's truck at his hangar, I can go see the CJ3 and maybe, MAYBE even get to fly with them on a trip sometime.

In the event that number 4 comes to pass, I'll be sure to take LOTS of pictures.

And finally, a certain retired pilot is coming to the airport to speak to all of us wannabe pilots. I'm not sure if anyone out there has heard of this guy, he used to be the Chief pilot for Lufthansa Airlines. His name is Dieter F. Uchdorf. You've heard of him? Me too, and I'm freakin' excited at the chance to hear him talk shop. I'm also extatic at the opportunity to perhaps pick his brain on a few airline related questions. I'll be sure to put up some pictures from that one too.