Scott Lutte – FMA Solo Program

Achieving the Dream

Fellow pilots and musicians,

I know this is long overdue, but I thought I’d take the time to update you all on what has been going on since the last time I posted. Let’s pick up where we left off. After my last post, I studied, flew, and worked hard to end August with a CFI, multi-engine certificate (not MEI, just commercial AMEL/ASEL), and a bachelor’s degree in science in aviation. Then I got a job as a flight instructor in Council Bluffs, Iowa. I was living the dream, getting paid to fly, living off Taco Bell and energy drinks, and having non-stop fun. After a couple of months, I ended up getting back to work myself and passing my CFI-I check ride in February of this year. With that, I gained a lot more students and started flying quite a bit more. My record was 42 flight hours in one week (I don’t suggest this, it is extremely taxing on yourself). In June, I interviewed and got a job offer with SkyWest Airlines, but I still had about 150 hours left until I hit my 1,000-hour minimum requirement. Those last couple of weeks of instructing were by far the hardest. In three weeks, I had 12 students take private, instrument, commercial, and CFI-I check rides. This meant dozens of hours giving ground lessons and never-ending check-ride prep flights. With that, I had 11 students pass on the first try and only one student had to do a retest and then passed with no problem. Although, that student taught me a great lesson on the effect of fatigue. We had started the day with a last-minute plane swap which meant checking the maintenance logs, documents, and changing paperwork on IACRA. Then, we flew two hours to the airport where the check-ride took place. After a two and a half hour oral, they went and flew. So you can imagine why it was easy to make a simple mistake.

Now begins the next chapter, the airlines. The hardest training I’ve ever had. In late August, I started the incessant training process to become an airline pilot. First was ATP/CTP in Dallas, where we learned the information required to take the written test for my R-ATP certificate. After passing that, I flew to Salt Lake City, Utah, where I had about a month of classroom training. The first week was indoc, learning about the company’s policies, exemptions, and regulations, followed by a test at the end. The second week was all on the computer, learning about the CRJ’s systems, then two weeks of ground training in the classroom with three validation tests at the end. Once I made it through the classroom training, I flew out to Cincinnati for a month to do all of the simulator training. After roughly 44 hours in the simulator, another validation, and a flight back to SLC, it was time to take my LOE. The LOE is the check ride for the type rating, and R-ATP in my case. All two months of training, weeks worth of studying, six different tests, and nights of little sleep led up to this. On October 28th, I passed my LOE with a few minor mistakes. Nobody is perfect, right? I now had a type rating for the CRJ and my R-ATP. But the training doesn’t stop there. After a quick two days of differences training for the CRJ-700/900 (all of my training was on the CRJ-200), I did my first IOE trip. That first flight was terrifying, but so much fun. All I could think about when we first took off was “holy crap this is really fast”. As for my first landing, I slammed that CRJ so hard into the runway in South Bend, Indiana, I thought I left a crater behind me. I landed so hard, that passengers were complaining in the back. By the end of the trip, I had gotten the landings down a little better. At least the passengers weren’t complaining now, just the flight attendants. As of now, I’m done with training and on reserve (on-call) based out of Denver. I moved back home to Montgomery, Texas, right before I left for training and am commuting to Denver until I can hold an IAH/DFW base.

So, I’ve been pretty busy in the last year or so, but where does music fit in with all that? Up until I went to training, I was playing a lot of guitar and drums with my best friend in Omaha. We had plans to start playing small gigs but sadly, I had to move. I’m still playing when I can, but with commuting, and being away from home all the time, it is difficult to find time. I’d also like to get back into playing piano as I haven’t played consistently in years.

And now you’re all caught up. If you’ve read this far, thank you for the support. Thank you to everyone in the community, my parents, and instructors for helping me get this far. It’s a dream come true. And a big thank you to Bose. I’ve been using the A20s that they were kind enough to send out for almost two years and still use them today at the airlines with zero issues. If you have any questions about flight training, airlines, or anything else, feel free to reach out. Happy holidays!

Lots of Good News!

Hello fellow pilots and music enthusiasts!

I couldn’t be happier to share with you all that I am officially a commercially licensed pilot! In late April, I passed my commercial check ride after weeks of bad weather delaying the flying portion. I had actually done the oral portion in late March, but couldn’t finish the check ride due to high winds. Up until I finished the ride, I battled low ceilings and high winds. Finally, a day of clear skies and calm winds came and after nailing all my maneuvers and landings, I was rewarded with a commercial license. The moment my examiner closed the door of the FBO to leave, I completely lost it and was freaking out that I had finally finished. I had been working on my commercial since last June and a weight was lifted off of my shoulders when I was handed my temporary certificate. My first flight as a commercial pilot was nothing different than the countless training flights I had done before, but it put a whole new perspective on flying. I can’t thank those of you a part of FMA, my parents, and all my flight instructors enough for getting me to where I am today. The continued support means more than any of you would ever know!

Fast forward to Monday, I began my CFI training. I spent two hours with my new instructor going over how to teach different lessons and a bunch of information that I didn’t know. As I’m always told, a good pilot is always learning and this was very true on Monday. After being grilled about aerodynamics, aircraft systems, and regulations, I came home to find a package from our fearless leader, Mr. Zapp! I opened it up and immediately found the copy of AviNation I was featured in (still doesn’t feel real) and a maintenance handbook that I’ve already begun reading amongst other awesome items. A huge smile was already on my face seeing all the stuff in the box, then I dug a little deeper. I saw a large white box at the bottom and wondered what it could be. Then I saw the classic “Bose” logo on the side. You can ask my roommate, I was screaming “NO WAY, NO WAY” at the top of my lungs while simultaneously yelling other words I cannot include. The best way to describe me opening the box is the scene from “Indiana Jones: Raiders of the lost ark” when he finds the golden idol and the gold from it is reflecting off of his face. I could not believe it was real. Attached to this post is a picture of the first flight with the A20s, I had to go test them out (and it gave me a good reason to get out and fly!). The noise-canceling is so good on these that I had to take one ear off when I leaned out the mixture in cruise as the plane I was flying didn’t have a lean assist. I am so thankful for everyone in FMA who continues to show support for me and the rest of the recipients. This community has given me so much more than I ever thought and I will cherish all of this forever.

P.S. For all the guitar players here: can anyone name the model of my amp in the picture?

Cross Country down to Stearman Field and more!

Hello All,

I hope you are all doing well. I thought I’d share with you all about my most recent cross country down to Stearman field in Wichita, Kansas. As part of part 141 commercial training, I am required to do what we call a “long cross-country”. This is a flight that consists of one 250nm leg with no stops in between and then stopping at two other airports. All of this is done solo as well. I started at KCBF and flew down to KWLD, then to 3AU, and finally stopped at 1K1 for some dinner before heading back to KCBF. In case you don’t know about 1K1, it is an airport with a restaurant right on the field. In my opinion, it is the best on-airport restaurant in the midwest. Everything is pilot-themed and the service/food is phenomenal. I logged a total of 4.8 hours that day and it was a blast! I’ve included a couple of photos of the trip along with this post.

I’d also like to add that I’m nearing the end of my commercial training as I have my check ride scheduled for March 18th. The one thing I tend to struggle with is the power-off 180, so if any of you have any advice, I’m all ears!

Over my winter break from school, I also went down to St. Augustine, Florida, and got my spin endorsement with Patty Wagstaff. This was arguably the coolest flying experience I’ve ever had in my life as I got to not only fly an Extra 300L but also fly it with Patty Wagstaff. I also had upset recovery training that day with Spencer Suderman in a Super Decathalon. For that flight, I learned how to do aileron rolls, recover from different flight attitudes, and even did a loop! (but by the time we did loops I was ready to get back on the ground). It was VERY beneficial to my confidence in the airplane. Now, I feel like I can recover from just about anything in an airplane. If you are thinking about doing upset recovery training or aerobatic training, I highly recommend going to Patty.

Anyways, I hope you are all doing well, and thank you for your continued support!

Update on Life and My Experience at Oshkosh

Hello all,

Sorry for the radio silence for the past little while, but I have been hard at work trying to get through college, and my ratings, as quickly as possible. Currently, I am an Instrument Rated Private Pilot and am about 80 hours into my commercial license. So far, I have flown almost every day this summer trying to build hours for commercial training. Normally, students here fly a max of four days a week. Also, to put it in perspective, I passed my private checkride just over a year ago. So, as you can see, I’ve been very busy with school and flying. The reason I am doing all of this is that I am trying to graduate in 3 years. Academically, I can do it no problem, but it’s the ratings that are slowing me down. With that being said, it has easily been the most fun summer getting to fly to all of the little airports around Nebraska.

Recently, I was given the opportunity to perform Taps on trumpet at the annual Oshkosh Memorial Service. It was such an amazing experience and I am so grateful to be given this opportunity. The best part of it was right when I began playing Taps, I looked up and the Aeroshell T-6 team was performing the missing man formation right over the memorial. It was truly amazing. HUGE thanks to John Zapp for giving me this opportunity. The rest of the day, I just walked around the grounds in utter amazement at the airplanes there. The last time I had been to Oshkosh, I was 13. Yes, I thought the planes were cool and all but being a pilot put the show in a whole other perspective. For those of you that were there, did you get a chance to see ‘Scrappy”, the 700hp STOL plane built by Mike Patey, outside the Garmin booth? Absolutely crazy. Sadly, I didn’t get very many pictures of Oshkosh because the camera on my phone is broken. But, I did get a selfie at the memorial service! Hopefully, EAA puts out some videos of the memorial so I can share my experience. Let me know what your favorite thing about Oshkosh was!

I’ll make sure to keep everyone posted on how my commercial training continues. Thank you to everyone taking the time out of their day to read this and I hope you are all doing well!

Also, I inserted a picture of one of the past flights I took to get my 100nm day and night flight out of the way. My instructor and I flew down to Stearman Field (1K1) to get dinner. If you are ever in the area, or just need a reason to get out and fly, I highly recommend it. Great food and great people.

Have a good one!

Scott Lutte

Thirty Degrees Didn’t Stop Me

Hello fellow musicians and aviators. This post has a special place in my heart and always will for as long as I am alive. Yesterday, October 28th, 2019, I flew approximately 1.6 hours, of which .5 of those hours were by myself. No CFI, no help, just me; and let me be the first to tell you, I was terrified. My first thought when I turned downwind looking at the runway was “well, now I’ve got to get down there”. I successfully completed three stop-and-go’s by myself at Council Bluffs Municipal Airport. I walked away from the airplane and the trusty 172 still runs so I would say that’s a win for me. I can’t thank the staff at Advanced Air enough, including my awesome CFI, Leighton Kaluza, as well as everyone in the FMA community. You’re positive feedback and advice helped me more than you know and I am so proud to be apart of such an amazing association. This was the first milestone of many more to come.

It was about thirty degrees when I took to the skies all by myself. When I landed I wanted to take a picture in front of the airplane, N6293G, in my FMA shirt but I was all layered up, however, that surely didn’t stop me! It was cold but I had to show my appreciation for those who helped get me here. Although I might need a new shirt since the tail was cut off of mine. In the picture below you can see my Mom cutting the tail off of my shirt. My mom flew up to Omaha from our hometown in Texas for work and I am so happy that she was also able to be there for my first solo. Thank you again to you all for helping me through this first portion of my journey and a huge thank you to the FMA for supporting me!

Flying Cross-Country

Hello fellow aviation and music enthusiasts! I hope everyone is doing well. I sadly have not been flying much recently due to the weather up here in Nebraska. I hadn’t flown in almost two weeks due to the winds, but that dry spell ended yesterday. Yesterday, my instructor and I flew a short cross-country flight from Council Bluffs (KCBF) to Lincoln (KLNK). We decided to fly this trip to get my mind off of landings. I’ve been struggling with flaring the airplane since the first day. I’m looking at the deer at the end of the runway but I just need more practice. On the cross country, I did do two landings at council bluffs, a touch and go and a full stop. The cross-country taught me about flight planning, flight followings, and using visual references to help guide yourself to the destination. Also, the departure out of lincoln was a blast since we got to fly over Memorial Stadium, where the Huskers play. I inserted a photo below of the view from my seat of the stadium and downtown Lincoln, but I was not texting and flying! And in music news, I joined the pep band at my university, which is a small group that plays at basketball games, hockey games, and volleyball games. It has been so much fun to play my trumpet in a band again and I have a blast at every game. Thank you all for your endless support and I am honored to be apart of such a supportive community. I hope you all have a great week and rock (your wings) on.

My view over Lincoln

Pep the band at Volleyball Game

Flying into Eppley

Hello fellow aviators! I can’t thank each and every one of you enough. The support on my last post was overwhelming and I am so thankful to be in such a supportive environment. I am currently three weeks in to flight training and I’m still having so much fun. Last flight we flew into Eppley from council bluffs and worked on touch and go’s. In total we did eight touch and go’s. A lot of practice but also a lot of progress. It was also fun but scary to do pattern work in a controlled airport, but contacting approach is a whole other story. I was really nervous to fly into such a big airport but luckily it wasn’t too busy so I had no problem at all. I’ve attached below a photo of my flight instructor, Leighton Kaluza, holding the ground effect and then climbing out with a steep angle of attack. Again, thank you guys so much for the comments on the last post and I will update all of you on my next flight. Hopefully next flight I can land a squeaker!

First Week of School!

Hello fellow aviation and music enthusiasts! I hope everyone is doing well and I’d love to fill you in on my first week of school. I had my first week of classes last week and my first flight with the aviation institute as well. Just a hint, the flight was a lot more fun than the classes. So far I have joined three clubs and counting. I joined a soccer club, ultimate frisbee club, and a school-sponsored car club. This first week has been really exciting with meeting new people and trying new things. As I mentioned before I also had my first flight in Nebraska and wow, I really have to get used to crosswinds. On Monday at 10 am, myself and my instructor went up in a Cessna 172 and did steep turns, power-on stalls, and power-off stalls, as well as a few touch and go’s. My first and second touch and go’s were really bad but I squeaked the full stop. It was really exciting and a whole lot of fun. I can’t wait to go back out again. I can’t thank the people at FMA enough for helping fund my dreams of being a pilot. As for music, I’ve been working on the guitar trying to learn new songs. Here are a couple of pictures throughout the first week of school I’ve inserted. The first picture was from a Glow Dance that the school threw together. Also, It was very bright when I took the picture in front of the 172 so please excuse the face I am making. Thanks to everyone who is helping me achieve my goals and thank you to those that are reading the blogs! I hope you all have a great day!

First flight in the 172 after a very bouncy touch and go
Glow Dance with some friends from my dorm
Dorm room with my awesome Dad! Mom is behind the camera

First Blog!

Hello fellow FMA members and aviation enthusiasts. My name is Scott Lutte. I play the trumpet, guitar, and a little bit of the drums, but I’m not so good at the drums. I am an incoming freshman at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. I officially have less than a month until I begin a new chapter of my life in college. My move in date is August 18th and I am very excited but also very scared. For those of you who don’t know, I’ve lived in Texas my whole life, so a move to Nebraska is quite big for me. I cannot thank the people at FMA for making this big move less frightening. Thanks to you all, I will have connections in Nebraska. I will also not have to worry about the gear I will need in flight school thanks to the FMA! I am so grateful for all of you in this community and I express my greatest gratitude. I hope to keep you all entertained and up to date with this blog and I am excited for what the future holds. I hope everyone is having a great time at Oshkosh!