A day in the life of a flight instructor
Most people have a ‘Plan B’. Except for Tyson Vencill. Vencill, USU flight instructor, said when people ask what his ‘Plan B’ in life is, he tells them he doesn’t have one.
“Flying is such a cool experience,” he said. “My job is the best job. I get paid to fly an airplane.
Ever since he could remember, Vencill said he wanted to fly. He said he began taking a few lessons at age 12 and became full-fledged in aviation at the age of 19. He later moved to Logan, where he has lived ever since.
Vencill has been a flight instructor for nearly a year. He describes his job as one of the neatest things he has done.
During trips to Salt Lake City as a boy, Vencill said he remembers begging his parents to go to the airport and watch the airplanes land. Vencill said since it has been his dream to become a commercial airline pilot, and his job as a flight instructor is just one of many stepping stones to reaching his goals.
Along with the challenge of being a full-time student at Utah State, Vencill teaches eight students with the flight program at USU, he said. Each flight lesson is two hours long, which Vencill said is the perfect length of time to cover all the material. Vencill said a typical lesson includes paperwork, a pre-briefing of what the student will do while flying, and practicing local flight maneuvers in the valley.
Vencill said he enjoys being a flight instructor because every day is something different. He said not one single flight is the same due to wind, clouds or something being said over the radio.
Currently, he said on a typical day he will fly to Ogden two or three times or to Salt Lake City, shooting instrument approaches with different students. Vencill said to shoot an instrument approach means to rely on the navigation, dials, GPS and other instruments in the plane to travel from point A to point B.
Vencill said the most exciting flights are the cross-country travels. He said when speaking of cross-country trips, it does not mean to fly across the country but refers to flying to places such as Denver, Seattle and San Diego. He said he has taken a group of students to Seattle to tour the History of Flight museum and has even flown with students to places such as Las Vegas, San Diego and San Francisco.
Vencill said as a flight instructor there are moments that can be scary. He said if the student pilot is new and lacks experience, he often has to take over the controls and recover the airplane.
“It’s like taking a student up into the air and having them try and kill you over and over,” he said.
Vencill describes the process of becoming a pilot often confusing and hard to understand. He said there are six different steps, more commonly known as ratings, needed to be completed to become a professional pilot.
The first rating is to receive a private pilot’s license. Vencill said this rating allows the pilot to do only certain things such as take a passenger on a ride or fly cross-country trips.
After receiving a private pilot’s license, Vencill said the pilot begins an instrument rating, which teaches to fly solely by using the instruments in the plane. Vencill said while receiving this rating, the student must wear what is called a hood, which blocks out the students vision and only allows them to see the instruments and gauges. Vencill said the instrument rating allows the students to fly in bad weather and from place to place. He said for many students this is the toughest rating to complete and understand.
Following the instrument rating comes the commercial rating. Vencill said this allows the pilot to fly either passengers or cargo. He said there are also ratings which allow the pilot to fly single-engine airplanes and multi-engine planes.
He said by completing each of the ratings, the opportunities become endless with aviation. He said of the five most requested bachelor’s degrees sought after, three of those are in aviation and two of those, a commercial pilot and AMP mechanic degree, are offered at USU.
However, to receive a job offer at an airline, certain hour requirements must be reached. Vencill said to receive ratings, 250 hours of flying time must be completed, and to become a pilot at a regional airline, such as Skywest, 1,000 hours must be completed. In completing these hours is where Vencill said flight instructing comes into play. He said the hours spent as a flight instructor also count toward flying for a commercial airline.
To become a flight instructor, a semester of groundwork, which includes a classroom environment and written exams, must be completed. Following the class, Vencill said aviation students switch from the left side of the plane to the right and then learn how to instruct other students on how to fly.
“This is the most grueling part,” he said. “It is the worst because it is so long and you have to teach so much.”
The USU flight program is what Vencill called the best-kept secret on campus. He said only 200 students are registered in the program.
“Pilots are in such a huge demand,” he said. “Right now a pilot has a mandatory retirement age of 60, and a lot of pilots are approaching that age. With this shortage of pilots, the airlines can’t keep up with the huge demand. There are not many jobs out there that you can graduate with a bachelor’s degree and make $50,000.”
Vencill said for those who are considering a job in aviation to go for it.
“For me it has never been a question if I should do it or not,” he said. “Flying is one of the coolest things I have ever done. I am living my dream.”
-courtnie.packer@aggiemail.usu.edu