Taking flight
Professional Pilot Program offered to JCC studentsBy APRIL DIODATO OBSERVER Staff Writer
"This takes the cake," Lou Nalbone, owner and CEO of Dunkirk Aviation, began. "I'm actually introducing somebody that went through our flight school, worked at our flight school, knew my family very well and flew my airplanes, and he's just a good guy and a good friend. His involvement in the industry is..." he trailed off, feeling the gaze of a few dozen pairs of eyes.
"Paul has been with Chautauqua Airlines so long that, well, he actually knows how to spell Chautauqua," Nalbone said, to laughter from the crowd.
Captain Paul Heinen stood proudly next to Nalbone, his former teacher and now his peer, as he silently prepared to give his presentation to a group of first- and second-year students at Jamestown Community College's Professional Pilot Program on a recent evening at the JCC North campus.
"This program is a wonderful success - it's just a crowning glory," Nalbone said. "I'm just glad you guys are all part of it... I just want to encourage you, as flight students, to stay on this path. It's not always easy..."
If Heinen's story is anything to go by, taking flight can in fact include some turbulence. The pilot's biggest obstacle was finance - making it to the next lesson with enough cash to pay for it was always a struggle. Heinen worked full-time as an auto mechanic, three nights a week at a bar as bouncer, and flew every other night and all of the weekends he could.
"It was just hard," Heinen said to the students. "Now, 50 percent of you are in some kind of financial straits where you work a job, go to school at night, everything else. It gets better, it really does, when you start making a living and all of a sudden, it seems like it was worth it."
The overwhelming applause and the immediately hushed crowd of young students show that Heinen's reputation precedes him. JCC's Director of Aviation Rick Rupprecht calls Heinen one of the county's best pilots.
Instead of reveling in this attention, Heinen seems humbled by it. He began to dream of becoming a pilot as a 7-year-old growing up in Hamburg while watching the TV show "Sky King," about a former military pilot who had a knack for flying to the rescue.
After graduating from Frontier High School in 1974, he did his private pilot training at Buffalo Airpark, now Buffalo Airfield, in West Seneca.
After obtaining his private license, he came to Dunkirk to continue his training "largely because of the lady on the telephone and her sales pitch - I think Louie would know that, it was his mom," Heinen said, grinning at Nalbone.
After obtaining all of his ratings, he worked for Nalbone's parents, John and Sue, for a couple of years before going on to fly for a small Buffalo company. He wasn't away from Chautauqua County for long.
"In 1984, I heard Chautauqua was hiring so I ran over there quick and they hired me pretty much on the spot - back then, you could do that," Heinen said. ("Must be nice," one student quietly muses).
Heinen now flies an Embraer 145 and has been with Chautauqua Airlines years longer than most of the management.
"What made you choose to stick with Chautauqua?" a student asked.
"I've been waiting for that one," Heinen said with a smile. "Big fish in a small pond Everybody knew my name and I kind of liked that."
It was also important to remain close to his roots - taking a position in Jamestown allowed his wife to keep her job in Orchard Park, and with kids at home, a Western New York base of operations was a priority.
"We could make it work," Heinen said. "And once you get the seniority, it's hard to give up."
Many of his contemporaries faced lengthy furloughs during the tough times suffered by airlines in recent years Heinen feels lucky to never have been furloughed.
He turns the question on the students - what made them choose Dunkirk for their flight training?
"Money," offered one. "You're not just a number," said another.
The program, in which hopeful pilots work toward an Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degree, offers students the basic training to begin their careers, whether they intend to fly commercial, cargo, corporate or private. Students earn the private, instrument, and commercial ratings, and then either the Certified Flight Instructor or multiengine rating to finish the degree requirements.
"This is the same training they will receive anywhere in the country so we feel we are cost effective with the training and offer additional savings to students who can live at home and not move to some other flight school," Rupprecht later explained.
Heinen asks for more benefits of training in Dunkirk.
"The weather," a student volunteered.
"Excellent example!" Heinen exclaimed. "Your shoot and approach - if you don't know what ice is by the time you've trained here, I don't know what you've been doing."
The group is shy at first but after the ice is broken, there is an outpouring of questions. Heinen offered plenty of advice to the young pilots, underscoring the importance of professionalism.
"You really have to be with the job all the time," he said. "If you're going to succeed in this industry, you have to look the image, present the image, and work hard to keep it up. And that means your grades, what you do and how you do it, and how you present yourself to the rest of the world. The image that you present is the company's image. And that's critical."
However, there's such a thing as being too serious. Heinen encouraged students to take a lesson in aerobatics if at all possible and to remember to enjoy what they're doing.
"Flying should be fun - go out and have fun doing it," he said. "Otherwise you kind of lose the love of it."
In response to an inquiry about whether it would be necessary or wise to earn a four-year degree, Heinen gives an emphatic yes. While he admits he doesn't have a college education, things were different in 1984. Not only will it make a pilot more marketable, but it's important to have something to fall back on.
After a stall in the industry for the past few years, Heinen estimates a hiring boom to come soon. He recalls seeing four or five cycles throughout his career where things suddenly pick up after a lackluster period. Many pilots are expecting to retire soon, leaving many opportunities for young pilots trying to get off the ground.
"Be prepared because it's going to happen soon," Heinen advised.
After his presentation, Heinen said he was very impressed with the students, their level of understanding and the range of questions. The sentiment, Rupprecht said, was shared by his audience.
If he could emphasize any point to those hoping to get into aviation, Heinen chooses this: "Work hard and be well prepared both for the demands of the position of professional pilot."
There will be constant change in the industry and multiple furloughs to come in their careers. Earning your wings won't be easy but it will be worthwhile.
"It's been a very rewarding career for me, all the way through," Heinen said.
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