Brad Mills

Interview Project: Part 2

Communications 1010-11
07/02/14




Interview Analysis Memo

DATE: July 2, 2014
TO: Professor Dave Gagon
FROM: Brad Mills
SUBJECT: Interview Analysis Memo, COMM 1010-11

I had the opportunity to interview a Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) from Cornerstone Aviation
in Salt Lake City. This is where I attend school for my flight instruction. Daniel will be my flight
instructor for the summer semester so I chose to interview him.

I plan to become a flight instructor because I know being a flight instructor is a way to log
enough hours to pilot for the airlines. During my interview I found that becoming a CFI can be
very demanding if you choose it to be. I gained a lot of use full information and my beliefs were
confirmed that becoming a CFI is where I need to keep my focus.

This memo summarizes the useful advice I received and analyzes what I learned from
conducting the interview.

Summary of lessons learned
Education
I learned that it takes about four semesters of classroom time to learn the required knowledge
to pass the CFI written exam for the FAA. Salt Lake Community College is the least expensive
school to attend to get the required knowledge. Cornerstone Aviation is the only school in the
Salt Lake valley that is approved to offer this training from the FAA.

I learned that it takes about 350 logged hours to receive your CFI rating. This seems like a lot
now but Dan told me You will get discouraged at times but dont give up. This is something
that I already feel at times but it was good to hear it from somebody who has been through it
and accomplished their goal.

Dan shared that getting a degree in aviation will help in accomplishing less time logged to
become a pilot for the airlines. If you earn a bachelors degree you can be hired for airline
transport in 1000 logged hours. For an associates degree its 1250 logged hours and with no
degree its 1500 logged hours.

A Typical Day
When I asked Dan about his typical day as a flight instructor he said it was a long day with
students while also trying to manage the scheduling for the students. He also has to reserve
time for himself about two days a week to work on getting his CFII. Dan sets his own schedule
and is working seven days a week. Now thats commitment to get it done. Setting his own
schedule does give him freedom as well. Dan is going out of town for 10 days over the 4
th
of
July weekend to do a bike race in Washington State.

I asked Dan about How often the weather affects the schedule while flight instructing. His
response was, in the winter it can really affect the schedule. Teaching students to fly you have
to be in a certain range of wind speeds and wind direction. You also have to be clear of clouds
and potential storms which can cause icing and severe turbulence. If this is the case the
instructor does most the flying and the student does not get to learn as much and still has to
pay for the flight. In the winter it affects the scheduling about every other day. So bottom line is
cancellations happen a lot in the winter. The summertime is not as bad but you do run into high
density altitude, and with the uneven heating at the surface the air tends to become turbulent.
One out of four days the weather is a factor on the scheduling aspect.

Dan explained to me that the best part of his job as a flight instructor is that he enjoys getting
to share with other people something that he is so passionate about. He gets to pass that
passion on and help keep people interested in something that he would like to see continue.

What Dan likes least about his job is the long hours and the inability to find time to do the little
things like eat. He shared with me that his personal life has been put on hold temporarily until
he logs enough hours to move on.

Employment
Dan suggested that after receiving your CFI rating the best opportunity is flight instructing. It
opens up an avenue of instead of paying for flight time you get to be an instructor and get paid
to fly and log flight hours. Dan said it provides the best stepping stone to all avenues of
aviation. It can give you the opportunity to move on to flying commercial, bush, corporate,
pipeline, backcountry flying or you can stay as a flight instructor. The network you can build
from flight instructing is huge with new students and their network changing every few months.

He suggested being a CFI really shores up the base knowledge of aviation. Taking a year or two
to instruct and understand the regulations and controlling the airplane efficiently instead of
someone who moved on immediately to go fly pipeline or some other area of aviation. Its been
said that being a CFI makes the interviewing and new hire process for the airlines easier. The
reason for this is you will already have the knowledge for the ground school classes and a
better understanding of flight.

I asked Dan about any flight schools he would recommend working for after receiving my CFI
rating. His response was of course the school he is currently working for CSA. He said Susan his
boss and owner of CSA treats the employees well and is above average in pay for flight
instructors. The flexibility with scheduling was good and the environment was pleasant.
He also mentioned Westminster College and Utah State University, where as the program is
more regimented and strict but the learning is top notch. You dont get to log as many hours
but they have hiring programs with ATP (Air Transport Pilot) which can be a huge bonus. The
bonus is you will have a hire interview with SkyWest and when pass your interview and
simulator flight, they will hire you and as soon as you have your hours logged, they will take you
off the instructor line and have start flying for them.

Interview analysis
This interview introduced me to the field of being a CFI and also taught me a lot about how to
conduct an interview.
Analysis of becoming a CFI as my stepping stone
From this interview I have realized that I am already on my way to becoming a CFI. It is very
rewarding to know that all the hurdles Ive already jumped through are starting to pay off. I am
very excited to get my CFI rating so that I can start sharing my passion of aviation with
beginning students.

Analysis of my interviewing process
I felt very confident in my interview because I love aviation and I knew my instructor would too.
I was very excited to conduct this interview.

For the interview I took the sheets I had printed for part one. I felt it went really well. My
instructor was very receptive to my questions and gave me clear answers. I am extremely
thankful for this assignment because it clarified what I had heard from others in the aviation
industry. I noticed some of my questions were answered before I had the time to ask them so I
had to improvise with my secondary questions which helped me a great deal. I chose to bring a
recorder which assisted me in writing this analysis. It was a great resource to writing this paper.
I will continue to pursue my degree in aviation.



Letter of Thanks

8989 S. 3780 W.
West Jordan, UT 84088
July 3, 2014


Mr. Daniel Morgan
337 N. 2370 W.
Salt Lake City, Utah 84116


Dear Daniel,
Thank you so much for allowing me to interview you for my first step in my career.
The information I received in our interview was a great insight into the aviation industry.


I admire your dedication to your job and the care you give to ensure the best for your students.
You make a superb role model. From this interview I realized that reading about a career
cannot give a full perspective about a day in the life of someone in the field, but talking to you
has given me this vital information. For example, I never knew that a certified flight instructor
would need to balance time among several students. You also opened my eyes to more areas I
can explore as I consider my own future career.
I appreciate your setting aside time for me, even though you have such a busy work schedule.
You really helped me for my communication class. I learned so much about the Certified
Instructing career and more about interviewing, which will definitely help me in my future!

Sincerely,

Brad Mills



Summary:

This project has given me an opportunity to interview someone in my field of study. I chose Dan
Morgan, my flight instructor, and I am glad I did. Dan is a great guy and I think this was a good
way to start our flight relationship together. This interview taught me the fundamentals of the
interviewing process.

I have really enjoyed this class and this was one of my favorite projects. I am grateful for the
opportunity I have, to get educated and pursue my dream of being a pilot. I want to thank Dave
Gagon for being a great instructor and a helpful resource in this class.