It went well - seriously tidy maintenance hanger. I'm like totally impressed with an operation that maintains well! I observed to the interviewer, "Wow, your fleet is extremely well maintained ... down to the correct looking air pressure in the tires." Not a small thing. Then he toured me through their maintenance hangar. The floors looked like Mommas ... I have never been anywhere else (including the NAS/Pensacola that was so orderly and dust free. He told me the head mechanic was retired Navy, formerly Blue Angel mechanic. I felt as though I could walk straight to any item that was requested ... the organization was epic. There was a red Harley tucked in one of the corners ... it didn't look out of place. I know ... I wasn't there to look at the maintenance hanger!
I liked their program. It's a little different ... they want a student to work with the same instructor all the way through their commercial multi (and they spend ten hours in a King Air and 20 hours in a King air full motion sim) I am not a multi instructor - he said you can be. I said I am in the business of getting my training money back in my bank ... he laughed. If I hire on they will provide the upgrade ... probably not as simple as signing over my first born ... we'll see. I liked a lot of how they do what they do. Still leery of the composite aircraft, but willing to investigate for myself and form an opinion. I sat in their twin Diamond Star ... and their Bonanza ... bumbuddybumbuddy bum bum. Pretty seductive.
I said, "How's that same instructor all the way through working out ... and why is that preferable?" He said the cultural differences and the language issues just make it more time consuming for the student to get used to the instructor and visa-versa. Hmmm. Maybe that makes sense. A lot of the interview, if you'd call it that, went really well. I think I could be happy there and contribute. He asked me to call the owner for an appt. on the 29th. I will. The important thing to me is to find my best case scenario and stick with them for at least a year or two.
Grit= firmness of mind or spirit ... unyielding courage in the face of hardship or danger. I met several of their students. I liked them quite a bit. They are here as the next generation of professional aviator at the discretion of the Chinese government. If they fail to complete their task with in the allotted time, their peasant farmer parents will have to repay their tuition and living expenses. I could see the grit in their velvety black eyes. I admire the courage that propels a poor kid half way around the globe for a seat at the poker table. That, the King Air, and the maintenance hanger.