James Heath: Pilot Turned ATC

Pilot to Pilot podcast ep 022 ft James Heath: Pilot turned ATC. What is going on Avination, Welcome back to the Pilot to Pilot podcast, today I am talking with aviation journeyman James Heath. James is a former CFI, airline ground handler, 2x regional pilot and current air traffic controller. In today's episode we talk about. How a movie led him to aviation. How the book Contact led him down the path to find ET. How a young Eagle flight with the EAA at age 9 was one of the coolest and most terrifying things he has done. James was making more money playing more money playing online poker than his part-time jobs. How his mom saying no to dropping out of college for online poker led him to take aviation classes. James was hooked from his first flight at Illinois. Changed his major 2 years into college. Which in turn gave him put him on the 6-year plan. James’s mom made him call her before and after every flight. How James graduated in one of the worst times in aviation. Why he chose to become a flight instructor in Arizona over Illinois. What it was like teaching all foreign students. What made James think about becoming an Air Traffic Controller. What really sold him on ATC. Applied in ATC July 2009 (terrible time to apply for ATC). Why he left being a CFI and became a ground handler. How to he ended up flying caravans for the company he was a ground handler for. We talk about what it is like flying a Caravan into the busiest airports in the US. Why he chose the to fly for the regionals. How he chose between the different regionals at the time. What it was like flying at the regionals. How he ended up switching regionals. How the plans you make rarely work out in this industry. Why it is important to have a backup plan. When he finally got the call from ATC. How ATC hires. Why James decided to walk away from flying to become a controller. We talk In detail about what the process is to become an ATC. How the training to become an Air Traffic Controller is a very long process. It took him 25 months to become fully certified. A time where Washington Center told me I shouldn’t be flying tonight. Why he likes working low sectors. Avination, thank you for listening to today's episode. If you enjoyed it, please let me know! Email me at [email protected] or reach out on Instagram @pilottopilot. Happy Flying, Justin Don't forget about our Patreon giveaway to find out more information click the link below!