Originally Posted by
USMCFLYR
Don't you wish you had listened to that advice BEFORE going even as far as you did then??? All of that information was available to you in the forum even in that year that you were lurking.
Yes, but I think it might have been a mixed blessing though. I was going to get my PPL whether I became a pilot or not, and I think it was a fun experience, and gave me an idea of how much work flying really is.
I have no doubt that if you are going to be taking upper level classes in any of the disciplines that you mention above you will have your hands full no doubt! With Chesapeake and Devon corporations in town, maybe they have some sort of bridge program or internship available through the university.
They do actually! I'm hoping for an internship this summer with Anadarko here in Houston.
I found that I excelled in the P41 training environment much more than I did in my short time with the P61 training. Maybe I would have had a different experience with a different instructor, as mine was brand new to instructing; but I came to realize that the P141 training program at OSU was very similar to the military training environment I participated in at a later time. One of the previous posters mentioned that s/he just showed up for a flight, said 'Hi' and off they went. That wasn't my experience. I had full brief, flight, debrief with every training flight and 'stage check'.
My flight instructor was really great at OU. He was new, but didn't act like it. He was very casual (often reclining his seat during our flights), but was full of knowledge. In fact, I believe he recently got picked up by Pinnacle in Detroit flying the CRJ200.
Good luck with your chosen path and be sure to check back on - especially if you keep your finger in aviation with recreational flying. One thing though - I'd ask that you respect the decision of others that you probably met in those first years at OU who are continuing their pursuit of an aviation career. Share the information you've learned and let them do with it what they will. Some would call what you are pursuing crazy too. By the way - one of my friends here in OKC works in the energy exploration business and is ALWAYS gone, and for extended periods of time. Don't fall into the fallacy that only people in the aviation business travel in their jobs.
USMCFLYR
Flying will always be a part of my life, and I would never call anyone "crazy" for what they do. It's up to them what they do with their life. Hell, I might continue on with flight training after college. I still can't get it out of my head! But for now, I'll stick with what I'm doing and hopefully graduate a semester early!
It's funny what you said about energy companies and always being gone. When we lived in Denver when I was little, my father was gone quite a bit. Since moving to Houston though, I don't think he's been on a business trip in a couple years. I guess it's all about the circumstances of the line of work you're in.