My Cadet Experience
By Albert Molina
I started flying at TVSA in January 2018. I completed my RPL flight test and joined the Diploma of Aviation (Commercial Pilot Licence – Aeroplane) in one of the intakes.
Why TVSA you ask? Well, when I visited for a Trial Introductory Flight, I was welcomed by friendly staff as well as a rose-bush-lined brick pavement to the building which would eventually make way for a new and larger facility where we now operate from. As much as I love our new and advanced building, I do still miss the old weatherboard building with it’s renovated interior (ahh memories). In addition, TVSA was within close proximity to metropolitan Melbourne and offered a course which I was after.
After receiving my RPL, I then completed my Navigation training in the Diploma. Thereafter, I started hour building towards my CPL. This allowed me to explore various places in Victoria. During this time, I also attended classes and sat the CPL exams.
As I embarked on the course, I attended the TVSA Cadetship information night. It was during this session I got to find out more about the program. The program was something I could see myself doing and therefore I expressed my interest. Based on what was on offer, how could one not have applied?
I applied and was successful in being selected for the program. After my CPL flight test, I completed the Flight Instructor Rating as part of the TVSA Cadetship. Not long after, I started to deliver theory and conducted instructional flights. Now I was the one teaching someone else to fly!
At the same time, I also worked on my Multi-Engine Instrument Rating, which I achieved while working on the job. Adding this rating to my Licence built the foundation to one day teach others on a Multi-Engine aircraft and also under IFR. Trust me, when you fly into your first cloud during the Instrument Rating, it is something else..
Since then, I have conducted many instructional flights and have now become a Grade 2 Instructor which brought me to another milestone of sending a student on their first solo. Quite an experience if you ask me.
Suffice to say, the Cadetship has been instrumental in getting me to where I am today. I’m now continuing to embark on my journey in aviation and it’s pretty much onwards and upwards from here!
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