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for references. These people probably don’t advertise... they won’t have to. Why? Because smart buyers follow my secondary bit of advice: do your homework.
Join the type club that represents the type of airplane you are considering. Find out who is the go-to person in that market. Talk to the owner of the maintenance shop that only does work on the type of airplane you want to buy and research forums. There will be a shortlist of names that will pop up again and again, and those are the names that you should interview. A wise business leader once told me, “In a deal, the one with the most information usually wins.” Sage advice.
So, you’ve found a buyer agent, you’ve done your home- work, and now you are the proud new owner of a turbine. What is your next step?
Well, while you were doing your previous homework, you should have also been making mental notes about the various instructors that serve that community that you have joined. Pick one of the really good CFIs and treat that CFI well. Get on their dance card. And, getting on that dance card will not be easy. The best of the best CFIs in any small niche market are incredibly in demand. They’ll usually be booked up months in advance.
Don’t just look at availability, look at personality too. This is not easy to do, but you should be able to look at the instructor’s writings, videos and recommendations from clients. A good instructor will be integrally involved in the market you join and should already have prolific data infused into that market. You will spend lots of time in a very small space (a cockpit) with this instructor, and you want to make sure that CFI teaches in a way that you’ll respond to well and learn the most from. Find someone that you want to be around.
Then, once you find that right instructor, come to training with the mindset of being a sponge. Soak up the knowledge. Don’t come to try and convince the CFI of what you already know. There’s nothing worse for a mature CFI than for a “know it all” client to come and try to prove why their train- ing event should be half the length of everyone else. The time you spend with your CFI is precious, so make sure you come to training with an “I’m here to learn!” attitude.
Making the turbine transition is not for everyone. But for the pilot looking for more power, performance, reliability, and a new skill set, it just might be the right move to make. You’ll learn all sorts of new phrases and terms. You’ll get used to raw power, performance, and a slow response in power adjustments. You’ll learn a whole new way to get the most out of your engine’s performance. And, you’ll be a lot better pilot at the end of the training.
Factory Direct Models
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Preferred Airparts LLC
http:/preferredairparts.com
Joe Casey is an FAA-DPE and an ATP, CFI, CFII (A/H), MEI, CFIG, CFIH, as well as a retired U.S. Army UH60 stan- dardization instruc-tor/examiner. An active instructor in the PA46 and King Air markets, he has accumulated 14,300-plus hours of flight time, with more than 5,200 dual-given as a flight instructor. Contact Joe at joe@flycasey.com or 903.721.9549.
May 2022 / TWIN & TURBINE • 15