E349: Building Time as a CFI: Luke's Journey from ATP to 900 Hours

Pilot to Pilot

Justin Siems

Aviation, Leisure, Flying, Pilot

4.8 • 997 Ratings

🗓️ 16 January 2026

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode, I sit down with Luke, a flight instructor based in Utah who's currently at around 900 hours and grinding his way toward the airlines. Luke shares his experience going through ATP Flight Training in just 8.5 months, the reality of being a CFI without the guaranteed job he expected, and how social media helped him land his current position as chief instructor at a flight school in Provo.

We discuss the challenges of building time in today's aviation environment, the pros and cons of the ATP route, and what it's really like to be in the trenches as a CFI. Luke opens up about his ultimate goal of flying for Delta, his concerns about being an aviation influencer while job hunting, and the valuable lesson he's learned about building relationships in this industry.

Whether you're currently grinding toward 1,500 hours, considering flight training, or just finished your ratings, Luke's honest perspective on the realities of early career aviation will resonate with you. This is the grind—unfiltered and real.

Topics covered:

Why Luke chose ATP and if he regrets it
The hidden costs and realities of accelerated flight training
Finding CFI work without the ATP guarantee
Building time through aerobatics and upset recovery training
Balancing social media presence with professional aviation career
The importance of mentorship and networking in aviation

Transcript

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0:00.0	Episode 349 of the pilot the pilot podcast takes off now.
0:09.7	The Pilot to pilot podcast is brought to you by Ground School from the Finer Points, the
0:14.0	indispensable training app for new and experienced pilots.
0:17.4	Visit Learn theFinerpoints.com backslash Justin to save 10% off your first year.
0:22.5	Fly with Garmin avionics, then grab your mobile device and make the Garmin pilot app your
0:26.8	cockpit companion. Get advanced functions you'll use before, during, and after every flight,
0:32.7	including updating your aircraft's databases and logging engine data, file fly log with garmin pilot all pilots need
0:41.8	the big weather picture and i use serious xm aviation to check the fronts airmets segments turbulence
0:47.5	pyreps and more while i'm pre-flighting and in route all to give my passengers and me the most
0:52.3	comfortable flight possible and now with the latest offer from seriousM, there's never been a better time to upgrade
0:57.8	your next flight with a Garmin GDL 52 portable receiver to bring SiriusXM and ADSB weather
1:04.0	plus traffic into your cockpit.
1:06.0	My name is Luke.
1:07.0	I live here in Utah and I'm currently working as a flight instructor out of the Provo airport.
1:13.1	Aviation, what is going on and welcome back to the pilot the pilot podcast.
1:16.7	My name is Justin Seams and I am your host.
1:19.6	It has been a while since I've done an episode with someone that is currently going through the grind.
1:25.1	Currently as a CFI, waiting for the call, wanting the call, maybe not
1:29.0	even at a total of 1,500 hours yet. I reached out to Luke who goes under the Instagram name
1:33.6	that pilot Luke and we talked about what his journey has been so far. He chose ATP. Did he regret
1:38.9	ATP? He currently has about 900 hours and he is still in the grind. It was awesome to hear
1:44.0	kind of what his outlook is, what he wants, what he thinks he wants. And, you know, I think it's interesting to ask him, what's your dream job now? Because there's a good chance that might change in the future. It was great having Luke on. I appreciate the conversation we had. And I really hope he asked, he's looking for a great mentor. If you are listening to this and you think you might be able to help Luke, I'm sure he would appreciate if you could reach out to him. And also check out professional pilots of tomorrow as it's a great option for mentors, which I mentioned to Luke as well. Avi Nation, thank you so much for listening to this podcast. We are currently working on volume two of the magazine. We're going to have a massive section on
	...

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