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Don’t take financial advice from broke people!  And why you need good mentors.

“Don’t take financial advice from broke people.”  These words of wisdom echoed through my ear buds from one of my favorite podcasts.  This piece of advice is handed out regularly from financial guru Dave Ramsey to many of his listeners on his podcast and radio program.  When I first heard it, I agreed and decided the same advice can fit many situations regarding in any aspect of life.   Anyone wanting to expand their aviation horizons can certainly benefit from this truism.

I have enjoyed meeting people throughout my career.  One thing I really enjoy is listening to others who have much more experience than I have.  These friends are a true gift because they help me grow both as a person and a pilot.  Being trainable isn’t just for when we started flying or when we are pursuing another rating, it should be all the time.  Professionals agree that a good pilot is always learning.  One of the best and more rewarding ways to continue learning and growing is to seek out aviation mentors who are smarter than you in a field you are wishing to pursue.

Some of my most valued friends are those who have been kind enough to mentor me.  I have a couple mechanic friends who can help me with a “trick” or repair decision.  I have an aviation business friend who has been a huge help with accounting and marketing.  I am lucky to have friends who are flight instructors who have helped me with teaching tips.  This week I had the opportunity to learn from pilots much younger than myself with my ipad.

Matt and Budd

Currently I have 3 business jet type ratings, and just under 9,000 hours of total flying time.  Cool right?  No!  Resting on my own laurels will only perpetuate my stagnation.  There is still much more I can’t wait to experience.  This year I want to learn aerobatics, gliders, floats, and more about aviation maintenance and inspection.  I know that by always having an attitude of trainability, my friends and mentors can help me reach my goals.  Good mentors can be at your home airport or may require a little creativity.

Today with the internet and ease of travel, the aviation world has never been smaller.  A few months ago, I took my own advice to seek out those smarter than myself.  I traveled from my Ft Worth home out to Scottsdale, AZ.  There, I was able to live out a long time dream of learning the Pitts Special with legend Budd Davisson.  Along with appreciating decades of Budd’s aviation writing and photography, I’ve wanted to fly with him for years.  Budd literally wrote the book on the Pitts and has been teaching the Pitts for longer than I’ve been alive.  I wasn’t sure what to expect, but regardless of the outcome, I knew that just the experience of flying with Budd would be worth it.  I wanted to learn from someone with more experience than I had so I could become a better pilot and instructor.

After 5 days of flying and 7.0 in my logbook, I learned a lot!  What I was most impressed with was not just flying the Pitts specifically, but great rules of thumb in precision flying that I can work on and hopefully pass on in my own instruction back home.  As I was trying to recount all the great tidbits of Budd’s training, I came across a list Budd already made available on his website, airbum.com.

Please read, enjoy, and imagine your next flight with the help of Budd’s tricks that I found so valuable:

http://www.airbum.com/articles/Article25Tips.html

As I have wrote in the past, one of the great things about aviation is people.  I encourage everyone to seek out those smarter than you.  Appreciate anything they’re willing to share.  Of course, the most important point is to take in this investment you were given and pass it along to someone else.  The wonderful stance of perspective in aviation is that there is always someone who has flown or knows more about a topic than you do.   Conversely YOU already have more experience and may know more about a topic in aviation that someone else hasn’t learned yet.  No matter where you are, you can share your experience with someone else.

Budd Pitts

People helping people, especially through mentorship, helps all of us in aviation that much more.  Find someone smarter than you and don’t take financial advice from broke people!

-Matthew Hood

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