10 Day IFR Training

Tony,

Training with Andy is highly recommended. Andy is an “old soul” in a young body. His demeanor and teaching style matched my learning style perfectly, which is learn from your mistakes. We had several phone calls before I signed up to make sure we would be compatible. He recommended taking a few days off during the course, whcih I did. I don’t think I could have done 10 days straight. I was very nervous signing up for the program because it was a large sum of money and huge time commitment to be away from work and family. Also, I just got my PPL 3 months before signign up. Lots of “External Pressure” to do well. I was also very concerned with the pace of the course which has its pros and cons. Cons: not much room for delays, lots of information to grasp in a short amount of time, and a huge mental and physical toll due the amount of flight training in a short period. Pros: able to build and improve new skills quickly without having to relearn from each previous lesson, receive instrument rating quickly, and AFIT has systems in place that set you up for success. However, a few days into my training I had an afternoon flight that was horrible, I just couldn’t seem to do anything correctly. I was about to give up and drive back home, but Andy told me that when his students have a bad day, the next day and the rest of the training is much better. It was so bad that I am suprised Andy didn’t quit on me. Something must have clicked that evening because the next day and the rest of my training was dramatically better than that horrible afternoon. Goes to show that they really want you to learn and not just take your money. AFIT arranged for Lincoln Skyways to provide the rental plane, which was very fine. Bryon from Lincoln is a good operator. At one point, the vacuum pump stopped working and the crew at Lincoln Skyways got the plane running by coming in and working on the plane at 6am in the morning. They are dedicated to keeping their planes in the air, which is good for AFIT students.

Overall, it was one of the more challenging things I have done. The learning will never stop, but I now have a very good foundation to build from due to my training with Andy and AFIT. The course is like ripping off a Band-Aid, the anticipation and studying is difficult, the event (flying) is painful, however once you are done you are glad you did it and realize it wasn’t that big of a deal.

• Josh Plum - Mammoth Lakes, California