hr

Question 1

what are your goals

Answer 1

to find a good company to fly with and stick with them long-term, ideally my entire career

Question 2

tell me about a difficult student from when you were an instructor

Answer 2

a student who had many good qualities (flying skills, timeliness, cleanliness, coach) but was very lazy when it came to being prepared for lessons.
I had to draw the line by telling him we wouldn’t fly if he weren’t prepared, and instead spend the time doing what he should have done prior
The accountability helped him become a better pilot, but more importantly a better student

Question 3

tell me about yourself

Question 4

what does good CRM look like?

Answer 4

headline: efficient and effective teamwork, particularly in high-pressure situations
communicating, collaborating, and making informed decisions; this occurs between all crew members, including the pilots, flight attendants, ground personnel, ATC, and even the passengers. leads to a positive and productive environment, as well as a safe flight

Question 5

what sets you apart from other candidates?

Answer 5

determination (5 check rides in a year, 3 in 3 months)
hard working (continue to be productive on bad weather days, i.e. studying for the next check ride, revising lessons)

Question 6

what do you do for fun?

Answer 6

running, baking, cooking

Question 7

what would you do if you thought the Captain was drunk?

Answer 7

speak to him in private and ask him to call out sick

Question 8

what are your best qualities?

Answer 8

attention to detail (checklists, endorsements, training records)
hard work and determination (control everything that I can control)

Question 9

have you had any disagreements in the workplace?

Question 10

what does being a professional pilot mean to you?

Answer 10

leading by example, doing my part to ensure a safe flight, working well within a team and effectively using CRM

Question 11

what got you interested in aviation?

Answer 11

airshows in Millville, traveling to see my family in France… the flight was always so exciting

Question 12

what do you enjoy about your job?

Answer 12

seeing students grow and reach their goals
making connections with people from all walks of life with vastly different goals

Question 13

tell me about a time that you had a disagreement with a crewmember

Answer 13

virga at new garden?

Question 14

name a time where you had to use good CRM

Answer 14

popcorn smell with elliot?
or…
MEI ride with getting flight following to already be in the system, briefing FAA inspector and examiner on sterile cockpit/looking for traffic, filing IFR for the way back to airport that was IFR, asking examiner to write IFR clearance if needed, using autopilot to hold heading an altitude while setting up approach… this is what I did knowing full well I would never rely on a non-experienced passenger (knowing how toucan for traffic, night illusions, copying a clearance). this test was not about IFR procedures or how to scan traffic, but teaching multi-engine topics to a student. after this discussion they were willing to step into that role. I got all the help that I could get on my side

Question 15

what is your greatest weakness?

Answer 15

perfectionist (fly with non-perfectionists to see how they are able to ensure efficiency without comprising safety)
self-esteem (over-prepare everything)

Question 16

what was the hardest day you have had flying

Answer 16

day of the class bravo infraction

Question 17

what is your leadership style?

Answer 17

lead by example (modeling good behaviors) and relate

Question 18

tell me about a time that your made a poor decision

Answer 18

ii ride with winds?

Question 19

tell me about a time that you broke an FAR intentionally

Answer 19

doing weight and balance mentally?
virga at new garden?
being slightly off course to be an extra mile away from a thunderstorm? that was already 35 mi away

Question 20

what is a lesson you try to teach all of your students?

Answer 20

the hazards of the dangerous attitudes

Question 21

what would you do if your Captain was slurring their words?

Answer 21

speak to him privately and ask him to call in sick

Question 22

what would you do if you were the FO and a jump seater asked to sit up front, then made a derogatory comment?

Answer 22

notify the Captain and tell him to stop the commenting
if Captain does not comply, report to HR

Question 23

what are your greatest strengths?

Answer 23

hard working, determination, attention to detail

Question 24

what would you do with all the money in the world to improve aviation?

Answer 24

make flight training more financially accessible

Question 25

what is your experience with public speaking?

Answer 25

teaching high school math

Question 26

what would you do if one of the flight attendants showed up to the airplane intoxicated?

Answer 26

speak to them privately and encourage them to call in sick. if not, notify the captain

Question 27

tell me about a time you went after a goal

Answer 27

what goal... 3 checkrides in 3 months?

Question 28

how do you handle confrontation in the cockpit as a flight instructor?

Answer 28

start by mitigating risk with a thorough preflight briefing (positive exchange of controls, sterile cockpit, discussion of what the flight will consist of and the sequence) if confrontation arises in flight, fly the airplane first (sometimes I can coach, sometimes I have to take immediate control. I prefer to coach if possible, as it would be a better learning experience for the students. that's not always doable, however) maintain positive control of the airplane items that need to be discussed immediately may be able to occur in flight (long xc, after entering a hold, once clear of the runway) anything else would be debriefed on the ground after shut down

Question 29

what does CRM mean to you?

Answer 29

efficient and effective teamwork, particularly in high-pressure situations the entire process of ADM, identifying and mitigating risk, is not a one-person job, but rather the result of efficient and effect teamwork between all crew members, sometimes passengers too (i.e. a doctor on board for a medical complication)

Question 30

how would you handle a disgruntled Captain?

Question 31

when were you scared in a flight?

Question 32

have you made any mistakes while flying?

Question 33

tell me about your favorite flight

Question 34

tell me about a time when you had an issue in flight and how you handled it

Answer 34

aborted takeoff with george popcorn smell with elliot ask flight with gene

Question 35

tell me about a time when you went above and beyond

Answer 35

MEI checkride... everything r.e. systems was new and different, wanted to teach the manners really well and therefore needed to know them inside and out. I loved this learning experience and studying this content. it paid off, as there was a last minute external (stress) factor on the day of the checkride... an FAA inspector

Question 36

tell me about a time when you had a disagreement with a leader, this can even include a student since they are the one paying the bills”

Answer 36

gene? lorenzo? r.e. prioritizing what's best for the student

Question 37

tell me about a time when you made a mistake

Answer 37

class bravo

Question 38

tell me about a time when you almost died

Answer 38

michael martin, imminent power-on stall on takeoff

Question 39

tell me about a time you had a great flight

Answer 39

the flight back from pittsburgh to oqn... one pilot flying, other one monitoring. brought together MANY things I had learned either recently (multi instruction) or a while ago (IFR procedures) and it felt good to see all my hard work come together in one flight. it was also a lot of IMC, in and out of cloud which were quite a sight. it felt like airline flying and got me very excited for what's next after my 1500 hours

Question 40

tell me about a time you had a terrible flight

Question 41

tell me about a time you almost quit aviation

Answer 41

instrument training was very difficult

Question 42

tell me about a time when a coworker made a mistake the customer noticed

Answer 42

jake dinsel witnessing 406 holding short of 27 and exiting to secure fuel caps we debriefed it. later found out the parking brake was not set. I now use it as an ADM example with the caveat "what if the brakes failed"

Question 43

why piedmont?

Question 44

describe a time when you were pressured into doing something you didn't want to do