When people come to me, ready and able to buy real estate... but unsure of the process and nervous of the commitment, I tell them this:
Buying or Selling real estate can be an intimidating process. My job is to break the process down into a series of small steps. Each step is manageable and none of them is a surprise. We turn a seemingly overwhelming event into a guided, low-stress journey down a well worn path. Of course it's hard work... but it's also fun and worth it.
Learning to fly has been like this, for me. As the saying goes..."How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time."
Remembering back to Day 1, I thought pre-flighting the plane was overwhelming. Its called a what? What is that for again? What should I checking for?
Then I got INTO the airplane.... Oh dear! So many instruments, knobs, and levers. Forget knowing what they do and when to use them, just show me which ones not to touch so the plane doesn't crash!
My instructor, Mark Mantei, applies the same "principle of small bites", to learning to fly, that I do to real estate. Did he let me take off at my first lesson? Nooo. We began with straight and level flight, then shallow turns and other basic maneuvers. Once I was almost comfortable with something, we added another skill. Soon, I was learning take-offs and talking on the radio.
Then came landings... they took a bit longer. There was one day when I watched Mark's face, perplexed, after my less-than-elegant landing and actually asked him what he was thinking. He replied honestly. "Why doesn't she get it?"
But I did eventually "get it", and like a fledgling, the day came to leave the nest. With a little push, I was on my own.
Solo. Another step along the road. An accomplishment for me and an accomplishment for my instructor too.
For the next 8 months, I flew mostly solo. Sometimes just to play in the sky, other times, to complete student pilot flying requirements.
The small steps were adding up and Mark was under the impression I was almost ready for my check-ride. Another little push... a little further from the nest.
Ok... it was a big step and required a big push!
Not only was Mark asking me every day, if I had booked my check-ride, but he made sure to ask in front of other people at Air West. Crap! Peer pressure! An old, but effective tool. Very soon Mark had Larry, Lori, Cody and many more, also asking me when I was going to sit my check-ride.
In all honesty, I recognize that without the support and encouragement of my friends at Air West, I might still be flying solo... a "forever student". I could not ask for a better team and learning environment.
But mostly, there were two men who were instrumental from start to finish...
Osman, who took one look at my bucket list and arranged my first flying lesson. He found me an instructor that would understand me and he turned a blind eye to the hole I was putting in our joint bank account. Osman covered me at work and listened to my aviation ramblings for over a year before I was officially a pilot... then he dared to be my first passenger!
(I only hope I can be as useful when it's his turn to learn to fly.)
And Mark. The CFI that was able to take me, a girl challenged by math and physics, and turn her into someone who could convince a FAA examiner that she was good enough to have earned a private pilot license. I swear, no bribery involved! All it took was 45+ hours of Mark flying with me, hundreds of hours explaining stuff online with me, the patience of a saint and the ears of a seasoned therapist!
(My conclusion... CFI's don't get paid enough and must be in it for the love of teaching and flying.)
 |
| Manitou Incline. Less than a mile, but a 2000' elevation gain. A series of small steps! Photo courtesy of Bill Dayton |
Learning to fly has been like this, for me. As the saying goes..."How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time."
Remembering back to Day 1, I thought pre-flighting the plane was overwhelming. Its called a what? What is that for again? What should I checking for?
Then I got INTO the airplane.... Oh dear! So many instruments, knobs, and levers. Forget knowing what they do and when to use them, just show me which ones not to touch so the plane doesn't crash!
My instructor, Mark Mantei, applies the same "principle of small bites", to learning to fly, that I do to real estate. Did he let me take off at my first lesson? Nooo. We began with straight and level flight, then shallow turns and other basic maneuvers. Once I was almost comfortable with something, we added another skill. Soon, I was learning take-offs and talking on the radio.
Then came landings... they took a bit longer. There was one day when I watched Mark's face, perplexed, after my less-than-elegant landing and actually asked him what he was thinking. He replied honestly. "Why doesn't she get it?"
But I did eventually "get it", and like a fledgling, the day came to leave the nest. With a little push, I was on my own.
Solo. Another step along the road. An accomplishment for me and an accomplishment for my instructor too.
For the next 8 months, I flew mostly solo. Sometimes just to play in the sky, other times, to complete student pilot flying requirements.
The small steps were adding up and Mark was under the impression I was almost ready for my check-ride. Another little push... a little further from the nest.
Ok... it was a big step and required a big push!
Not only was Mark asking me every day, if I had booked my check-ride, but he made sure to ask in front of other people at Air West. Crap! Peer pressure! An old, but effective tool. Very soon Mark had Larry, Lori, Cody and many more, also asking me when I was going to sit my check-ride.
In all honesty, I recognize that without the support and encouragement of my friends at Air West, I might still be flying solo... a "forever student". I could not ask for a better team and learning environment.
But mostly, there were two men who were instrumental from start to finish...
Osman, who took one look at my bucket list and arranged my first flying lesson. He found me an instructor that would understand me and he turned a blind eye to the hole I was putting in our joint bank account. Osman covered me at work and listened to my aviation ramblings for over a year before I was officially a pilot... then he dared to be my first passenger!
(I only hope I can be as useful when it's his turn to learn to fly.)
And Mark. The CFI that was able to take me, a girl challenged by math and physics, and turn her into someone who could convince a FAA examiner that she was good enough to have earned a private pilot license. I swear, no bribery involved! All it took was 45+ hours of Mark flying with me, hundreds of hours explaining stuff online with me, the patience of a saint and the ears of a seasoned therapist!
(My conclusion... CFI's don't get paid enough and must be in it for the love of teaching and flying.)
No comments:
Post a Comment