What is “FlyCRJ.com”?

FlyCRJ.com is a blog (weblog) website aimed at those interested in Aviation, Flight Training and the CRJ-200 (Bombardier Canadair Regional Jet).

You will find:

• A repository of articles and tutorials about the CRJ200 and its systems. The articles are aimed to help you with all aspects of understanding the CRJ200.
• A collection of articles about flying for a regional airline in the United States. The purpose of these articles is to give you an idea of what an airline captain deals with when Flying the Line.
• There is also a collection of Captain Insights where I share my knowledge about the airline industry and what it takes to be a captain in such a volatile industry.
• Finally, I share information about aviation in general and some of the more interesting aspects of it and evaluate crew resources, gear, and products that are either interesting, make your life as a pilot a little easier, or are just cool.

Who is Jeffrey Synk?

Currently, everything you read in “FlyCRJ.com” is created and written by me. The opinions and systems presented are developed based on my personal experiences (for better or worse) as a pilot and captain on the CRJ200, CRJ700, and CRJ900, as well as my flight instructor (CFI) experiences.

I appreciate comments and suggestions about any of my entries; however, disparaging or inappropriate comments that don’t add to the experience of this blog are not welcome and will deleted immediately. Please comment appropriately and within the guidelines of good manners!

With that said, I currently live in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and am based in Colorado Springs starting March 1st, 2009. While on the road, figuratively speaking, I try to write articles that I hope you will find interesting and useful in your aviation career.

As you will find out shortly, the dream of flying for a living started a long time ago…yes…in a land far, far away…and I’ve related this below so that you will have a better idea about the person that writes these articles. Flying was a life long dream that, somehow, over time materialized into what it is today. I think that though it has been one of trial and tribulations, it has been a good life indeed. I hope that you will realize that achieving a career in aviation is totally within your grasp!

The Dream Begins

When I was a kid, all I could dream about was flying…oh, and motorcycles. My sport was swimming and when I wasn’t at school, I was in the pool.

I think I was eight years old when my grandfather took me up in his Piper Cub off a grass strip in the middle of nowhere in Ohio. We flew along the tree tops and I remember taking a penny with me because I wanted to drop it out of the airplane, which I did.

On this day, I began my love affair with flying.

Through my pre-teens, I built model airplanes (though not very well) and I always looked up into the sky when an airplane flew over. 

When we would drive by an airport, I would strain to look at the runway and crane my neck to catch a glimpse of an airplane…any airplane.  Oh how I wanted to fly! 

And eventually I did! 

It Begins!

By 14, I was already getting into trouble, so for my 15th birthday my mom bought me a flying lesson hoping that would change my wicked ways. It was a “Discovery Flight,” though it wasn’t called that at the time, my flight instructor’s name was David Lampkins, and the flight was in a Cessna 152. I still have the logbook entry for that flight.

Well, the love was for flying was re-born and the friends I was hanging around with eventually disappeared. I found something higher than me and something I really loved and wanted to do. In hindsight, it probably saved me from a world of hurt and trouble later on.

So, I got some money from my parents, bought my flying books and I started my flying lessons.  I would pay for the lessons by working for my dad on the weekends installing kitchen cabinets. If I had the money, I would go out and fly before school. It was great!

A year later, on my 16th birthday, I soloed a Cessna 152 in El Paso, Texas. I soloed even before I got my driver’s license that day. I still remember that day and the thrill. I remember looking over at the Texas state trooper think, “Dude, you might as well give me my driver’s license because I am going to pass this test and oh, besides, I soloed an airplane today!”

My (Almost) Future in Aviation

Then one day, while in high school, while sitting in the counselors office waiting for my turn to discover what, if anything, I was to do with my life after graduation, when there, sitting on the book shelf was a brochure for the United States Air Force Academy. I pulled it out from the pile, read it and decided then and there that this was for me. Yes!!!

But sadly, I didn’t have the foresight to make it happen. 

My grades weren’t good enough. My SAT scores weren’t EVEN close to good enough.  I was too much into the “social” life then and not ever dedicated enough to my studies. So, after graduation, I went Texas A&M instead and tried to get into the military through the Corps of Cadets and fly that way. 

But yet again, I came up way too short.  My major was aerospace engineering but you would have really thought it was drinking and girls.  So, after three years of bad grades, no money, and a lot of tequila, I enlisted in the United States Air Force (USAF) hoping to get my bachelor’s degree that way and eventually fly. 

Again, no luck getting into flying through the USAF but I did get my private pilot certificate while in Tech School and was transferred to Hawaii, signed up at the base flying club and flew friends around the Hawaiian islands. (You might be asking yourself at this point how I was able to finish my Private Pilot certificate while I was in Tech School but that is a COMPLETELY different story! Buy me a coffee and I’ll tell you all about it!)

Anyway, by this time in my life, the dream of flying heaving metal seemed gone forever now but at least I was flying.

Was It Luck or Divine Intervention or Something Else?

Moving forward a little faster…I eventually got my bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Hawaii Pacific University while I was in the Air Force Once I seperated from the Air Force, I worked at JICPAC (Joint Intelligence Center – Pacific) as a defense contractor with GTE Government Systems for awhile then was transferred to the United Kingdom at RAF Molesworth. It was suppose to be a two year assignment but turned into a six year gig, when one day, while visiting Houston, Texas, three things came together all at once:  Starbucks, Barnes and Noble, and Flight Training Magazine. My life changed course right then and there!

I discovered in a flash that I could go to a “flight” school and learn how to become an airline pilot…and THAT is what I resolved to do.

It took a few months to  get everything in order. You don’t just leave a defense contractor job in other country. You have to plan your exit strategy. It took about four months to get everything in order, then in July 1999, I left the U.K. and a secure job and started my flight training at FlightSafety Academy in Vero Beach, Florida.

A school like FlightSafety Academy gives you the opportunity to get through your ratings QUICKLY…but…it’s not cheap. I went from a Private Pilot to a Commercial Multi-engine and Multi-engine Instrument rated pilot in about 4 months.  But, like I said it cost me. Luckily, I had the GI Bill which paid for most of it and investments that carried me through the rest.

In one of my blog entries I talk about FlightSafety Academy and why I don’t think it is a great choice.

Then things started moving quickly after that. By April 2000, I was a CFI. By May 2000, I was a CFI-I. And in July 2000, I became an MEI.

I did my MEI at AriBen Aviator (www.aribenaviator.com) and was immediately offered a flight instructor job flying the Beechcraft Duchess. Awesome airplane!

I racked up the hours. I instructed all the time. And I was exhausted!

I remember one day driving home and completely missed my house as I continued through the city of Vero Beach to the other side of town. On another day, I took the milk out of the refrigerator and put it back in the pantry not even realizing it was there until the next day!

But it paid off! By the time I had enough hours to interview, my multi-engine time TOTALLY eclipsed my single-engine time by hundreds of hours.

Then it started happening. I was getting interviews. First I interviewed at Trans States in St. Louis. They offered me a job. Then I interviewed at ExpressJet and THEY offered me a job. I took the ExpressJet job because they were “IT” at the time. They had a flow-through to Continental. Pluse they were dropping their turboprops and goint totally to jets. Upgrades to captain where happening in about two years. I HAD MADE IT…so I thought!

In a Blink It Was Gone!

Right after I finished training in April 2001, with only 50 hours in the Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia, September 11th happened. Shocked, stunned, and devastated, things were to roll backwards for a lot of pilots…and QUICKLY!

By October 2001, I was furloughed and back on the street…completely shattered!

Not knowing what to do, I did anything. I tried substitute teaching for awhile till I realized that the kids where not that nice. I eventually made my way back to flight instructing which made me happy again and was actually the silver lining to a devastating event for me.

While waiting for recalls to ExpressJet, I got married, finished my master’s degree in Management Information Systems (MIS) and finished my ATP.

A Turn for the Best

Then, as these things happen, through an agreement between ExpressJet and SkyWest, I went to fly at SkyWest with the option to recall back to ExpressJet.

I ended up really liking SkyWest and when the recalls started at ExpressJet, I declined and stayed at SkyWest. Good thing too because ExpressJet is now not the place it was then. I would have been fine there in light of current events but the opportunities at SkyWest were much better and I really enjoyed the company.

Anyway, present day, I am now a captain at SkyWest Airlines (www.SkyWest.com) and based in Colorado Springs living in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

So, this blog is about my experiences both good and bad and what I’ve learned along the way!  And I’ve learned a lot and I hope you do too!

I currently hold an Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) Certificate, a Type Rating for a CL-65 (CRJ200), but I am also qualified on the CRJ700 and the CRJ900, and a Commercial Pilot Certificate for a Single Engine Airplane.

I am a Gold Seal Certificated Flight Instructor (CFI), CFI-Instrument (CFI-I), and Multiengine Instructor (MEI) as well as holding Advanced and Instrument Ground Instructor certificates.

I have over 4,000 hours total flight time and no idea how much flight instructor time.

My formal education includes a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Hawaii Pacific University and a Master of Science in Management Information Systems (MIS) from Bowie State University.

One Final Quick Thought

I’ve am living the dream…and I don’t mean that sarcastically.  

A long time ago, while at college at Texas A&M, when I never thought that I would ever fly professionally, now I am.

While working overseas as a defense contractor, having resigned myself to being a programmer and accepting it completely, I now get to fly jets.

After September 11th, when I couldn’t decide what I needed to do next, I found myself a flight instructors job and got my ATP.

But like I said, that day in Houston changed everything. I am now a captain on a CRJ200, CRJ700, and CRJ900. And now I fly the left seat for a terrific company on a terrific airplane with terrific people.

I’ve come farther in aviation than I ever thought I would and everyday when I run the “Originating Checklist,” I remember how grateful I am to have this job and be a part of this experience. But, I also never forget how quickly it can all disappear. So I enjoy it everyday! So days more than others, and some days less than others, for sure!

So — if you find my blog helpful or at least interesting, I invite you to tell a friend using the link below, sign up for the rss reader updates, or subscribe to regular email updates.

I don’t spam and I don’t sell emails…I am here to tell you about my experiences, thoughts, and to help you learn about aviation and the CRJ200. 

Alternatively, follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/flycrj for updates on my journeys.

Be safe…and thanks!

Jeffrey Synk