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Van Ward, Colgan Airlines |
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Written by Van Ward
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Wednesday, 03 October 2007 |
My name is Van Ward, I am a recent new hire Saab 340 First Officer with Colgan Air. I remember being a young child and sitting on the hood of my grandfathers pickup, watching Hughes Airwest DC-9ís takeoff and land at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix. That is my earliest memory of wanting to be a pilot. Later, when I was about 10 years old, I took my first Airplane ride on an American Airlines Boeing 707. The Captain invited me to the cockpit and let me sit in the left seat of the impressive machine. That really sealed the deal for me and I became quite interested in aviation.
Fast-forward a few years to 1989. I was preparing to graduate high school and looking to my future. Airline Pilot was what I always wanted to do, and I started doing my research on how to achieve that goal. Much to my dismay, I discovered that my eyesight would not allow me to ever achieve my dreams. I was of course heart broken and tried not to think about it too much as the years passed by. Life has a funny way of going by rather quickly and sometimes you feel like you are just along for the ride.
Fast-forward again to February 2006. Since high school, I have had many trades to include car salesman, travel agent, restaurant manager, and over the road truck driver. The last 9 years being a truck driver. I had sold a second home I owned in Phoenix and had some disposable income. I decided to look into getting my private pilots license and just being a casual aviator and continuing with my trucking career. Although the lifestyle of trucking was hard, the business had been good to me over the years and I had not thought about a career in aviation since 1989.
In seeing what was required to become a private pilot I of course went to the FAA website and started my search. I looked into the medical requirements again and just by pure curiosity I looked at the First Class requirements again. I read them several times and thought to myself, that is nothing like what they were in 1989. I immediately scheduled an appointment with a DPE in Tulsa for a First Class Medical, although I had not reached my 35th birthday I went ahead and got the EKG test as well. The doctor issued my First Class Medical and now I had some soul-searching to do.
I started researching what I needed to become an airline pilot, and that is when I discovered Jetcareers. This was one of the most important steps in my journey. The information I found was invaluable and really saved me a lot of heartache, money, and wasted time. I owe so much to the fine people that participate on the message board here.
I visited several flight schools in Arizona, Florida, Oklahoma, and Kansas. I decided that the route that was best for me was going to the small FBO in Chanute, KS called White Air. It was only a 45 minute drive away from my house, the price was unbeatable, and I really connected with the instructor during my visit. On February 21st, 2006 I took my first lesson in an old 1969 C-172K. I flew 2 hours that day and from that point on I tried to accomplish as much as possible everyday until I reached my goal. After 13 hours I soloed on March 3rd, 2006 and had my Private License on April 5th, 2006.
I continued to work hard and train hard everyday during my training. I was able to get my instrument, commercial single and multi-engine ratings along with CFI and MEI ratings before the end of the year. In December 2006 I started flight instructing at White Air and I had several students over the next 4 months. I learned a great deal in those 4 months and the experience made me much sharper as a pilot. Regretfully flight instructing was not really my cup of tea. It was a great experience but I really didnít get a great deal of joy from it. I decided that I needed to build my time in other ways. This would be both fair to myself and also to my students.
In May 2007, I was hired by Air Grand Canyon, a Part 135 operator that flies Air Tours over Grand Canyon, Lake Powell and Monument Valley. This was yet another great experience, the conditions with regards to turbulence, wind currents, and density altitude make for a very challenging flight environment. Add to that the fact that we almost always fly at Max Gross weight in 30 year old Cessna 207ís. Going through a part 135 program, doing the part 135 check ride and single pilot in command time really gave me the confidence to take the next step.
In late July 2007, I applied online and sent a resume to Colgan Air. Colgan Air was high on my list of employers for several reasons. I was called and invited to interview on August 1st in Houston. The interview was a great experience and a couple days later I was offered a First Officer position on the Saab 340 and I will begin my training on August 13th, 2007.
In closing let me just say that if you are on the fence about pursuing this career, I fully understand. It is a big risk that I have taken, and the challenges are just beginning. Many people comment that I have accomplished so much in a very short period of time. I was simply fortunate enough to have great people help me along the way, and I was able to capitalize on some timely opportunities along the way. The road has not been without its troubles, and I have questioned my choices on many occasions. Looking back it has all been worth it, I still wake up everyday and look forward to the new challenges the day will bring. I also still pinch myself sometimes when I realize that I get paid to do something as enjoyable and satisfying as flying.
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