Green, with Wings (Pt 3) - Living the Dream

Part 3 in the Series.

On November 5, 2017 I embarked on a journey that I had wanted for 25 years, and had actively worked towards for 12: I began my career as an airline pilot. Just 12 days shy of my 30th birthday, I began training as an airline pilot with a company called Air Georgian Limited, who operates as Air Canada Express (meaning a contract airline that flies on behalf of Air Canada). I would be flying the Beech 1900D Airliner, a larger and more powerful version of the King Air B200 that I had been offered a job on the year before. With 18 seats and two powerful turbo-prop engines, saying I was excited would be an understatement. Training was a quick five weeks, but hours wise, takes more time to learn this one aircraft than the requirements for the Private Pilot’s License! They call it “drinking from a firehose”. The days were long, exhausting, repetitive, and mind-numbingly complex. But slowly it all started to make sense. From ground school, to the simulator, to flying the line - what we call it when we’re actually flying with passengers - every step of the journey had been an eye opening experience. All the hard work and patience had paid off! During my interview, the Chief Pilot and Head of Human Resources repeatedly fell-back on asking me about my experiences in university and my time in the Canadian Armed Forces. It seemed as if they put more focus on that aspect of my life than my flying qualifications. After all, everyone had the same license and roughly the same amount of flying hours. I was based in Calgary in January 2018, which was quite far from my home in Ottawa (about 3,800km away, door to door). Small price to pay to be with an airline. After a quick 18 months with the airline, around the same time I completed the last of training and testing to get my Airline Transport Pilot License, I got the call from the Chief Pilot that sent my emotions over the moon yet again: they were making me a Captain! But then, in winter 2019, we received word that Air Canada was stopping operations with the Beech 1900. It was soul crushing. I had just become a Captain, all the hard work training for that position, and already my days on the aircraft were numbered. Three months. I was a captain for three months. However in the big picture, that’s irrelevant. I had achieved goals I set out to achieve as a young boy, and as a young man starting flight training. My resume doesn’t say “I was a captain for three months” because that is irrelevant. I was a captain. But with every closed door, another opens. I was told I was being transferred to another aircraft as a First Officer. The Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ) 200. A jet. My first jet aircraft. Again I was overwhelmed with excitement. But this training is not for the feint of heart.

Six weeks. 150 hours of Computer Based Training (CBT) modules. 80 hours of ground school. 40 hours of Initial Procedures Training simulator. 40 hours of full motion simulator. Three different types of simulators (one of which is more expensive than the plane itself!) That’s what it takes to learn to fly a CRJ. 310 hours to learn to fly just one model of airplane. That’s not counting the hours of self-study and study-groups and serious lack of sleep (about 5 hours per night). My worst day of training so far has been 8 hours in ground school followed by another 5 hours of studying at the hotel. For comparison: the Private Pilot’s License is 40 hours of ground school and 45 hours of in-flight training. For a whole license! At the time of this writing, I’ve completed 32 hours of simulator training. Within the next three days of when this piece is published, I’ll be fully training and “type rated” on the CRJ200. The thought of flying my first jet is just incredible. Excitement and nerves mix. I lean heavily on my friends and colleagues who already, or have, flown this aircraft for tips and advice on how to learn systems better, or how to improve my landing technique (I have yet to have a smooth landing…). But, it will all be worth it in the end. The chance to fly an aircraft I have always wanted to fly (and one you too can fly, if you attend Simulator Club. And the B1900 for that matter!).

Hard work, dedication, perseverance, and supportive friends and family. That’s what it took to get to my goals. It was not always easy - in fact, I don’t think there was ever an easy part to it. But I think that’s what makes it so special. The challenge to always better oneself and drive to achieve what so many people have tried but failed. Becoming a pilot had been the dream since I was a 5-year-old boy. At 17, I started to realize that dream when I earned the Private Pilots License. There were 25 students in my ground school. Of those, six made it to the Commercial Pilots License. Just two became instructors. And I’m with an airline.

Never give up on your dreams, and always put in the time and effort to accomplish your goals. And just remember, you’re never alone. Other people are going through the struggle too. Reach out. Ask for, and offer, help. Dreams can become a reality if you truly put in the effort and never stop believing. I’m living proof.

Edit: After publishing this piece, I was successful in my flight test and am now type-rated on the CL-65 category of aircraft (which includes the CRJ200). I am currently in Toronto, Ontario preparing for my first flight to Memphis, Tennessee.