Published by Shelbi Tierney on Mon, Sep 21, 2015
Transitioning to the SR-20
Cole Dillon
Aviation Flight Science
As many people know, aviation has the ability to captivate minds every second of every day. The lucky ones get to experience this process for themselves. The luckiest of them all go through it at a young age. I was fortunate enough to be a part of this small percentage of that population. I was just in the fourth grade when I knew what I wanted to do with the rest of my life after taking a trip on an airliner to a spring break destination of Orlando, Florida. After purchasing a flight simulator and flying it almost every day, I decided that I could no longer wait to begin flight training in a real airplane. After two and a half years of training I was granted my private pilot certificate.
You may be thinking “What does this mean when you came to WMU?” Western offers a transition course for any incoming private pilot. The ten-lesson course is designed to acclimate the pilot to our Cirrus SR-20 aircraft and the procedures that the College of Aviation at WMU follows. It trains the pilot in the simulator and the aircraft to prove that he/she will be able to demonstrate that they are capable to fly the airplane and have the knowledge to Western standards. The knowledge is not just composed of knowledge about the Cirrus itself or WMU procedures, but it is knowledge that any and every private pilot should know.
When I talk about transition, I mean TRANSITION! Everything I had known about flying an airplane had been taught to me in a 1967 Cessna 172 or a 1956 Cessna 172 (the first year they were made). I never had any experience with technically advanced aircraft so the glass panel was intimidating at first and the plane flew faster than my initial trainer. I had also always been used to the Part 61 training atmosphere, however I ended up appreciating the structure of the Part 141 training system that WMU offers. Although much was different, it was definitely love at first flight. The plane itself was low wing, faster, and more technically advanced. I really felt like I was flying a jet. WMU operations really make me feel like I’m working for an airline. This is the type of hands-on training that will best prepare any student for a future job as a pilot in the aviation field.
My advice to anyone who is expecting to be enrolled into the transition course would be to 1.) not let the knowledge you learned in your private pilot training disappear. It will all come back as you have to take (essentially) another written exam and checkride. 2.) Complete it in the summer if you can. The airport is much less busy and you are almost guaranteed an instructor and an airplane. 3.) Complete it as fast as you can. While you are already a private pilot, you are taking in a lot of new information about a new aircraft and operating procedures. If you spread all this information out, you are not as likely to retain it. With only ten lessons, you want to keep all that information up there for as long as possible. Plus, the sooner you finish, the sooner you can start your instrument training and the quicker everything will be!
Happy flying!