Experience Matters by Paul Preidecker

Experience Matters

When I was a flight instructor at Middleton Municipal Airport (C29) near Madison, Wisc., the owner had created a nationally known instrument training program called Morey’s West Coast Adventures. Hundreds of pilots took advantage of the unique training offered by this program. Two pilots arrived for each “adventure” with a minimum of 20 hours of basic attitude instrument flying. Then, in a turbo Cessna 182RG, we launched across the U.S. towards Seattle, along the coast to the Los Angeles basin, and back to Wisconsin, having crossed the Rocky Mountains twice. The trip took six days, with 40 approaches, and about 45 hours split between the two pilots. At the end, the pilots received a practical test. I was the instructor pilot on 23 of those trips in 24 months. This method of training was meant to immerse pilots in the experience of instrument flying. When I applied to a regional airline, the chief pilot looked at my resume and said that while I did not meet all the time requirements (no turbine time), I more than made up for it with experience. What kind of experience? Cross country, pilot-in-command (PIC), and instrument flying in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC). I had a class date three weeks after my initial contact with the airline and quickly moved into the airline’s training department.

by Paul Preidecker

Paul Preidecker has been a flight instructor for almost 34 years. Retired from a regional airline as chief instructor, he has served on various industry committees, was co-host of FAA Safety Briefly Live, and is president of the National Association of Flight Instructors. Paul is also president of his own company, FlightDeck Insights, where he develops and promotes best practices and SOPs for the general aviation pilot.

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