Right seat dreams

I decided that it might be a good idea to get a flight instructor rating so I could teaching flying as a way to enter the world of commercial flying. My first job ended up being skydiving flying (see earlier post) but I have been working toward being an instructor since June 2019. I picked away at it over the summer but have focused much more earnestly on it since last October.

It's been weird. Flying from the right seat takes getting used to. I felt very disoriented at first, feeling like we were going to crash on landing when actually everything was fine. Not knowing which hand was doing what with the controls. It took about 10 hours to feel comfortable with it.

I also find it very awkward to be role playing all the time as my instructor and I take turns being the student and the instructor as well as being the student and instructor for real. I feel very self-conscious pretending to teach my highly experienced instructor with 10 times the flight time that I have as if he's taking his first flying lesson ever. I wonder if I'm good enough to teach someone how to fly an airplane.

But all those worries aside, I have loved the opportunity to become more proficient. I have learned so much that I can't believe I didn't know and have become even more comfortable handling the plane. My instructor and I have spent some lessons just playing with the plane, setting up very slow flight against a strong headwind, doing 60 degree steep turns, and spinning the plane over and over again. I've come to see flight instructing not just as a good first job but as a role that would be a great fit for me.

I expected to finish my instructor rating this month. I have six hours of training time left and was planning to do my written exam today, with my flight test to follow by mid-April. I had a job lined up and people who were waiting for me to finish so I could be their instructor. Alas, we are now in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Aviation has been profoundly impacted. Many pilots are out of work. Training is on hold for almost everyone, including me. It's hard to say what things will be like on the other side of this. I do hope very much that instructing will still be waiting for me and that my friends and I can continue to live our aviation dreams.