We asked our flight instructor Steve Anderson, CFI, about his experience and why he loves flying. Read more below!
Q: How did you get into flying?
A: I got into flying by chance. When I was a personal trainer, one of my clients was a pilot for Southwest. He suggested I use my G.I. Bill for flight school but, I had no interest in flying or changing careers. Once I heard the company that I was working for was laying-off employees, I decided to consider being a professional pilot.
Q: When did you know you wanted to be a pilot?
A: My personal training client told me to take a discovery flight to find out if I would even be interested in flying. He said, “People either love flying or they despise it.” I took his advice and scheduled a discovery flight right here at Sterling.
Q: What do you think is important when choosing a flight school?
A: I think the most important thing about choosing a flight school is ensuring the flight school meets the students individual needs for their training. For example, I picked Sterling over other flight schools because they accept the G.I. Bill through a nationally recognized school like Liberty University and they offer flexible scheduling for flight training.
Q: What do you like most about being an instructor?
A: I like teaching in general. It’s also pretty cool to have an office 3,000 feet in the air.
Q: What is your most memorable flying experience?
A: There are so many! Most recently, I shot an approach into Craig on the ILS 32. I broke out of the clouds at 300 feet and minimums for that approach is 241 feet. It was so thrilling to break out of the clouds and see the runway with only 59 feet to spare!
Q: What advice would you give students?
A: I did not grow up wanting to be a pilot. Admittedly, I used to think it was a lame profession. A matter of circumstance led me to considering flying. So if you never thought about flying or think it’s not for you, take a discovery flight and prove it to yourself. Because if you’re like me, you’ll fall in love with it.
Q: What advice would you give fellow instructors?
A: Only become an instructor if you truly like teaching people.
Q: What’s next for you?
A: I plan on teaching students for the foreseeable future but, I’ve also learned to consider other flying opportunities.
Q: If you could fly anywhere, where would it be?
A: Alaska.
