Aviation Mentors: My Journey as a Pilot

Mentors play an important role in the safety and success of pilots in training.

Mentors play an important role in the safety and success of pilots in training. And if we are fortunate, our flight instructors remain valued mentors we can call upon when it’s time to try something new in the aircraft or perhaps knock the rust off if we haven’t been up in a while. As a pilot gains knowledge and skill, seeking out CFIs with a particular skill set becomes even more important. I have been blessed with four flight instructors who befriended me and helped me gain valuable knowledge. That’s the beauty of aviation. There is always a new challenge with an ever-steeper learning curve, and a more experienced pilot can help us up the next rung of that ladder.

I had always been interested in flying, but never had the time or the money. So when my flight training began nine years ago, it was relatively late in life at age 64 with a by-the-book crusty old man named Bill Williams. I can safely call him an old man because he is ten years older than me. He was a senior captain with Eastern Airlines before they went out of business, and then he ran flight schools for a number of years. He held type ratings in everything from jets on down, and although I don’t recall exactly how many hours he had, it was impressive.

When I say he was by-the-book, I mean that in every way possible. Ground school for me began by reading a stack of NTSB reports on fatal crashes, followed by long discussions with Bill around the kitchen table about lessons learned. After my first week of study, he came by the house to gauge my progress and asked a seemingly simple question: how do planes fly? After an hour of discussion about Bernoulli’s principle, chord line, angle of attack, various types of drag, P-factor, and how ailerons, rudder, and elevator control roll, yaw, and pitch, he emphasized the lesson by drawing diagrams in my notebook. And he drew those diagrams upside down while sitting across from me. I still have the notebook with his beautiful drawings illustrating the physics of flight.

After several more weeks of study and discussions around the kitchen table, Bill pronounced it was time to actually go to the airport and fly a plane. It was a very hot summer day, and I remember him sitting in the shade with a bottle of water while I was preflighting an ancient straight-tail Cessna 172, N7134T. Every once in a while, he would fire off a question about what I was looking at, how it worked, and what it did regarding flight characteristics. I was sweating bullets by the time we actually got into the airplane, with me in the left seat.

After run-up and takeoff, we flew around the patch, practicing straight-and-level flight, shallow banks, and slow flight. All the while, he kept harping at me about dragging my left wing. At the time, I had no idea what he was talking about and, after several more lessons in the airplane, began to wonder whether Bill was a good fit for me. Thankfully, I learned that knowledge does not always come easily or as pleasantly as we might wish. So despite his teaching style, I learned many valuable lessons from that crusty old man.

Before moving on to another CFI, Bill taught me—or rather drilled into me—the importance of needle, ball, and airspeed, along with procedures like a circling approach to landing. I still practice that maneuver and think about him each time I land the airplane on the numbers. Perhaps one of the most valuable lessons he instilled in me was, if at all possible, not to fly over inhospitable terrain. Whenever I plan a flight and see terrain that gives me pause, I always chart a course over more hospitable areas in case of an engine-out emergency. It’s the little things that keep us safe in aviation.

I live on the Upper Cumberland Plateau in Middle Tennessee and fly a PA-22 out of 2A1, a sleepy airport with a north-south runway and a pretty consistent west wind; forward slips are routine to stay on the centerline. During my early training, I did a lot of pattern work with my next flight instructor, Joey Fowler. He often remarked that if pilots were afraid of a little wind, they would never fly. A wonderful instructor, Joey was very patient and a great fit for me. And as a bonus, he is my neighbor.

One of the first questions he asked me was whether I had ever operated heavy equipment. I thought it an odd question, but he explained that operating a dozer or a backhoe meant multitasking with different controls for different inputs. I was a career firefighter and did spend a number of years driving engines and ladder trucks. I guess pumping an engine or operating an aerial ladder qualified, because I soon became comfortable with the inputs of the flight controls.

I also remember his mantra of “hold it off, hold it off, hold it off.” That advice doesn’t resonate quite as much as I cross the threshold in the Tri-Pacer. It lands as soon as power is pulled, unlike the 172, which would float and float and float. But I can still hear Joey’s voice in my ear.

There are a few moments forever etched in my mind from my primary flight training. One in particular involved practicing emergency off-airport landings. Joey and I were flying over a large farm south of the airport, practicing the prescribed maneuvers that all pilots are familiar with, when he quietly pulled my power at about 2,500 feet AGL and asked me what I was going to do.

I trimmed for best glide speed and started looking for a place to land while verbally running through the procedures for an off-airport landing. There was a large pasture just below us with no cattle that we could see, so I set up for my downwind, turned base, and had three notches of flaps on final fifty feet over the fence line thinking, holy cow—I’m really going to land in a pasture. About that time, Joey told me to add full power and go around.

We practiced four or five more approaches until I felt comfortable with the sight picture and the idea that I could land an airplane off airport. That is what I most appreciated about him as a flight instructor; he would run me through real-world scenarios and let me make mistakes that we would dissect once on the ground.

Joey thoroughly prepared me for my written exam and then my examination with a DPE. I passed both with an admonishment from the DPE, and Joey, that earning a private pilot certificate was only the beginning of my training and that learning to fly proficiently, safely, and precisely would be a lifetime pursuit. And I’m very thankful that I didn’t start my flight training in my teens or twenties. I probably would have been a statistic in one of those NTSB reports.

The 172 I received my primary training in was available for rent out of 2A1 at $100 per hour wet. I took full advantage of that for several years until I noticed the oil pressure dropping and the temperature gauge rising. Thankfully, I was close to the airport and landed without incident. The airport manager grounded the aircraft and called David Dunford to investigate the problem.

Besides being an A&P/IA and CFII, David is a captain with Southwest and owns a Cessna 210 and a J-3 Cub. He quickly found an oil filter screen that had not been cleaned properly, and the airplane was soon back in the air. That was the beginning of our friendship and a lot of time for me in his 210. Transitioning from a tired old 172 that was happy flying at 85 knots to his aircraft, which climbed out at 100 knots, was a steep learning curve.

And even though I have about 20 hours in his 210, he still won’t sign me off for complex/high-performance. I don’t have enough consistent time in his airplane to demonstrate proficiency, and he doesn’t yet feel comfortable giving me that endorsement in my logbook. Another mark of a good flight instructor, regardless of friendship.

I had always wanted to get my tailwheel endorsement and was fortunate to find Aaron Tippin, who ran a flight school out of SRB. Aaron grew up flying airplanes at his dad’s flight school. His job each day after high school was to fly different types of aircraft. He’s the best pure pilot I have ever flown with.

Although he may be better known as a musician, Aaron is a gifted flight instructor, and training in his Aeronca Champ was a blast. His 7AC panel is very basic, with an airspeed indicator, altimeter, turn coordinator, fuel gauge, compass, and basic engine instruments. I never realized how much I depended on my attitude indicator until I started flying the Champ, but soon learned to glance at the horizon over both wingtips to make sure I was flying straight.

Aaron Tippin and author after receiving tail wheel endorsement.

His mantra was, “Wings level, buddy, wings level.” If your wings aren’t level, you’re in a turn. And I never realized how fixated I had become about looking at the ball until Aaron covered it up. Keeping my eyes outside the aircraft, I soon began to feel what coordinated flight felt like. This slowly became a habit by really learning to use the rudders properly and subtly.

Landing meant power off abeam the numbers and sideslipping to put it on a spot, and usually a forward slip to control drift with just enough aileron to keep the wing down. It was like flying a kite and so much fun.

I urge any pilot who does not have a tailwheel endorsement to get one. A pilot can get away with a lot of sloppy technique flying a tricycle-gear aircraft. Flying a tailwheel aircraft requires finesse, both on the ground and in the air. A conventionally geared aircraft is unforgiving when it comes to sloppy flight control inputs. I am a much more proficient, confident, and safer pilot because of that training and now truly understand what is meant by stick-and-rudder skills.

Having a private pilot certificate is a milestone few people ever achieve, and it’s truly a privilege. But with that certificate comes the responsibility to be a safe and proficient pilot. That responsibility is earned one flight at a time. Stay involved in the aviation community, and seek out other pilots willing to pass on their knowledge. And thank you to all the mentors who have contributed their time and wisdom to my journey as a pilot.

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Kit Howes

Kit worked as a firefighter for 31 years with Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue, Florida, retiring at the rank of District Chief in 2007. Upon retirement he moved to Tennessee, where he continued his interests in writing and teaching. He worked as an instructor with the Tennessee State Fire College, as a substitute teacher at a local high school and wrote Hot Zone: Memoir of a Professional Firefighter, which was published in 2012. He earned his private pilot certification in 2017. Although a low time pilot of 250 hours, he feels it’s a great way to exercise the brain and hopes to continue flying for many years. He counts himself fortunate to have met several mentors that have taken the time to help him with his training in different aircraft, including a J-3 Cub, a Cessna 210, and a Piper Cherokee 180. Home airport is 2A1. He is married and lives in Armathwaite, Tennessee.

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