I am a Commercial Pilot!
Those may be the proudest words I have ever been able to say. This is definitely a milestone in the life of a young aviator. On the surface, it means “oh yeah, you can charge people money to fly now.” It means so much more than that.
The check ride went very smoothly. It was a cold morning in January and I woke up very early to make sure everything was just right. I couldn’t have asked for more – clear skies, light winds and cool temperatures for maximum performance.
I spent about two hours in the ground going over the responsibilities of a commercial pilot – the do’s and don’ts. My examiner spent a great deal of time going over the systems of the A36 Bonanza. We laughed when we talked about weather.
“I love Arizona, but it is bad for asking questions about weather!” said the examiner.
He then pulled out several charts of “bad weather” from the past in different parts of the country. We spent a good deal of time building the “big picture” from the several snippets of weather he gave me. After I proved I knew my stuff, he said “Okay, enough of this… Let’s go fly!”
I preflight the airplane and found it to be in good condition. I proved that the airplane was airwory by going through the lists (and lists) of maintenance records. The examiner told me he was satisfied and was ready to take flight.
I got the ATIS, taxied out to runway 30L and took off. We began the check ride with a simulated cross-country flight to Gallup, New Mexico. About 20 minutes into the flight the examiner announced that he “saw a forest fire in the distance” and directed me to divert to Coolidge airport. I turned the airplane toward the airport and quickly calculated my new fuel burn, time and distance to the airport. I came within twenty seconds of my revised ETA.
The examiner then told me to get set up for our maneuvers. I performed the clearing turns and completed several performance maneuvers including chandelles, Lazy Eights and steep turns.
The examiner then closed the throttle announced “simulated engine failure.” Immediately performed the best glide checkist and performed several steep spirals to set up for a simulated emergency landing. The examiner said “well done” once I announced we were in a normal position to land.
We finished up with the Eights-on-Pylons maneuver and headed back to Gateway. We made a short-field landing and a power off 180 and then taxied back to the hangar.
The examiner smiled and said “congratulations, son, and well done.”
Drenched, tired and happy, I signed my temporary certificate and headed back to my house. Several months of hard work and dedication paid off that morning – I still remember how excited my Mom was when we talked that afternoon on Skype.
Howdy. My name is Jacob Nelson. I’m an entertainer, entrepreneur and commercial pilot. Darn glad to meet you.