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Are you considering a career in aviation? Interested in adding a
helicopter rating to an existing pilot certificate? Love young
children? This is an opportunity to build time and ratings while
enjoying the company of a charming two-year-old (photos). The ideal candidate will have the
following:
Flying puts you into contact with some of the world's most interesting people. Commercial pilots are folks who've followed their dreams. Recreational pilots might be miserable when they're at their desk jobs, but you'll be seeing them at the airport where they are doing what they love. Pilots aren't afraid to take responsibility for their decisions. They tend not to sweat the small stuff.
If you want to learn about success in medicine or business, hanging around the airport is a great way to begin. The most common career backgrounds for airplane owners are doctor and self-made business founder and CEO. The doctors are often heads of departments at major hospitals or operators of their own practices and clinics. These guys went from nothing to earning enough money to buy and operate a $1 million airplane. They didn't get there with dumb luck or family connections. Most of these folks wouldn't have time to spare if you asked them to spend a day educating you. But if you said "I'm also a pilot; can we spend a day together practicing instrument approaches?" the response is likely to be much more enthusiastic.
The most critical part of your job will be providing occasional child care for Greta, a smart lively good-natured 2.5-year-old (photos). I like to spend as much time with Greta as possible, so if I'm flying a 30-minute Boston tour, I need you to keep her entertained on the ground until I return. You won't be Greta's primary caregiver; she is an only child with two parents and a three day/week daycare schedule. However, you may be needed as an extra hand if we travel somewhere with Greta and also may be required to provide child care for up to a few hours at a time. Previous child care experience and references are a must.
Your second job is ground support for flight training and charter activities. You will do flight planning, fuel planning, get relevant weather reports from the FAA, brief passengers for helicopter rides, keep track of the schedule for student and personal flights, keep the GPS databases in the Cirrus and Robinsons up to date, keep the aircraft clean, stock the fridge for the mechanics, make sure that the dog is not bored (a Border Collie), shuttle students around in your car or mine. You will learn about compliance with FAA regulations. I will provide all necessary training so that you can accomplish these tasks.
What do you get in return? Flight and ground training toward your pilot ratings, both airplane and helicopter. When we don't have paying customers, we will go up together and work on your flying skills. On the ground, you will have access to a complete library of flight training materials and books, plus wireless Internet access. At the airport, you will also be surrounded by expert flight instructors and pilots who can answer most of your questions. On rainy days, I can provide some structured ground school training to supplement what you're getting from the books. If you're interested in computer science or photography, I can provide instruction and projects in those areas as well.
I am 48 years old and live in suburban Boston, a 15-minute drive from
Hanscom Field. In 2001, I retired from a 23-year career as a software
engineer and began flight training. As of 2012, I have nearly 4000
hours of total time. Currently, I hold an Airline Transport Pilot
certificate with single-engine land, multi-engine land, and
rotorcraft-helicopter ratings, plus two type ratings for jets. I have
a single-engine sea rating at the Commercial level. I hold a Flight
Instructor certificate with airplane single-engine, airplane
multi-engine, instrument airplane, instrument helicopter, and
rotorcraft-helicopter ratings. I have more light aircraft
cross-country experience than most people at my level, having traveled
Boston-to-Alaska-and-back a couple of times in single-engine planes
and Los Angeles-to-Boston several times in Robinson helicopters. I
have flown 50-seat regional jets for a Delta Airlines subsidiary.
I have a lot of experience with photography, both film and digital, and have a better collection of photographic equipment than most professional photographers. I have taught photography to college students.
I have a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from M.I.T. and experience teaching EECS subjects at M.I.T.
I enjoy teaching and spending time with young people for whom my advice and/or the skills that I teach might make a difference for their future.
If I am busy with a software consulting project, you may go to the airport and fly with one of the other instructors or fly solo if you've been signed off.
For the days when I have Greta, we might fly somewhere in an airplane or helicopter to visit a friend, a museum, or the beach. Greta will ride in the back in a car seat (she is an enthusiastic flyer who had her first helicopter ride at about two months of age). If she needs assistance with her headset, sippy cup, or whatever, one of us will be on the controls while the other helps her. If we don't go flying, I might ask you to serve as an extra hand in taking Greta on a land-based excursion. I like to have dinner with Greta and put her to bed, but I might ask you to babysit for a few hours afterwards.
You will be working hard and won't be able to have any other summer employment.
If you'd like to demonstrate your ability to communicate with video, feel free to email philg@mit.edu the URL of a video application. The video should include some of the following: a bit about yourself; you with a kid; you with a dog; why you're interested in aviation; two references (interviews with teachers or mentors saying good things about you). I would think that five minutes would be the maximum reasonable length.