As a little kid (age 3 to be exact) a Northwest Airlines captain gave a presentation about flying to my Sunday School class. I was fascinated. He handed out postcards with a C-150 that I had pinned on my bedroom wall all my growing up years.
My dreams were dashed when I needed glasses in third grade....I knew all pilots were eagle-eyed wonders that didn't need glasses! But I never lost my passion for flight and finally pursued my dream to be a pilot in college.
I pursued other career paths to feed the flying passion and they've all been good to me (photographer, lawyer, law school faculty, technology consultant for law firms, director for large legal publisher, etc.) Along the way I've flown as much as I could and have spent 1,700 of my 4,000 hours sharing my passion with others and signing their logbooks.
But there was always that wistful feeling when those jet airliners flew overhead...
So you can imagine the shock and accompanying emotions when one of the largest regional airlines called me a week ago Friday and invited me to fly out for an interview this past Thursday. Had they not carefully read my resume? While I don't list my age or birthdate, being a lawyer since 1982 pretty well guarantees I'm well over 30-something!
But who am I to say no?! The experience alone was worth the time away. Then I started researching their interview process, which led to five intense days of study and prep. While I knew it was a long shot, I decided I wasn't going to let lack of preparation be the cause of my "Thanks, but no thanks" letter.
The interview itself turned out to be a relaxed, fun experience. My study and prep paid off for the written and there were no surprises in the process, other than how relaxed the two young captains interviewing us made us feel.
I went through it with a young CFI about the age of my son, and a slightly older ex-military guy with an impressive resume. I figured he'd be a no-brainier for them with all his jet time.
So, after five hours with them we did a debrief. They had some nice things to say and said I would get a response either way in a week or so. We shook hands and I headed for the airport feeling spent, but grateful for the experience.
Upon landing at my layover airport I turned my phone on to find a voicemail from a number I didn't recognize. Turns out it was the recruiter....congratulating me and asking if I could be in their jet training class in 11 days.
The thoughts and emotions that spun through my mind are indescribable, but disbelief was one of the leading ones. Then the emails began arriving with the training schedules, living accommodations, uniform information and the emergency procedures checklists they want me to study before reporting for training. So I guess it's real.
So dreams really can come true, no matter how wild or remote they might seem! Never say never.
My dreams were dashed when I needed glasses in third grade....I knew all pilots were eagle-eyed wonders that didn't need glasses! But I never lost my passion for flight and finally pursued my dream to be a pilot in college.
I pursued other career paths to feed the flying passion and they've all been good to me (photographer, lawyer, law school faculty, technology consultant for law firms, director for large legal publisher, etc.) Along the way I've flown as much as I could and have spent 1,700 of my 4,000 hours sharing my passion with others and signing their logbooks.
But there was always that wistful feeling when those jet airliners flew overhead...
So you can imagine the shock and accompanying emotions when one of the largest regional airlines called me a week ago Friday and invited me to fly out for an interview this past Thursday. Had they not carefully read my resume? While I don't list my age or birthdate, being a lawyer since 1982 pretty well guarantees I'm well over 30-something!
But who am I to say no?! The experience alone was worth the time away. Then I started researching their interview process, which led to five intense days of study and prep. While I knew it was a long shot, I decided I wasn't going to let lack of preparation be the cause of my "Thanks, but no thanks" letter.
The interview itself turned out to be a relaxed, fun experience. My study and prep paid off for the written and there were no surprises in the process, other than how relaxed the two young captains interviewing us made us feel.
I went through it with a young CFI about the age of my son, and a slightly older ex-military guy with an impressive resume. I figured he'd be a no-brainier for them with all his jet time.
So, after five hours with them we did a debrief. They had some nice things to say and said I would get a response either way in a week or so. We shook hands and I headed for the airport feeling spent, but grateful for the experience.
Upon landing at my layover airport I turned my phone on to find a voicemail from a number I didn't recognize. Turns out it was the recruiter....congratulating me and asking if I could be in their jet training class in 11 days.
The thoughts and emotions that spun through my mind are indescribable, but disbelief was one of the leading ones. Then the emails began arriving with the training schedules, living accommodations, uniform information and the emergency procedures checklists they want me to study before reporting for training. So I guess it's real.
So dreams really can come true, no matter how wild or remote they might seem! Never say never.
Last edited:
