I need your advice regarding volunteering

[J.A.F.O.]

BackPacker perhaps made my point more eloquently than I.

Good luck, Flyaways, I genuinely wish you all the best.

[Flyaways]

Originally Posted by BackPacker

True. But you quit after a single shift, done on a day which was by no means a normal day. You didn't even give it a second chance. So you'll never know how it would've turned out.

Heck, I don't see anything that indicates you even talked it over with the manager. He might have given you a more realistic view of the job and the future.

I think that's what annoyed most of the posters on this thread. Not the fact that you made a decision one way or another, but the fact that you started whining about it so quickly, without giving it a few days/shifts to see how it would turn out.

It was certainly my reason for getting involved with this thread.

I talked it over with the manager of the flying school who told me it would be a range of jobs, from washing up to helping the maintenance guys or washing the planes. Then I talked to the restaurant manager who told me it was just going to be washing up, and occasionally there may be something other than washing up, but he didn't seem to certain. I asked if that would involved being out on the field or helping the maintenance guys and he said no, as the pilots know the most about the planes so they will be used if help is needed. The only time I would need to go in the maintenance area was if I was told to collect the cups.

Ok so the ideal solution would be to stick it out for a few days to give it ago. I could have done it but I'd be incredibly bored and hate the place- not a good thing to think if that's where I would have to take lessons! I've done it now, and I am happy with the decision. Nothing lost, nothing gained etc...

I think we can slowly start to end this thread now

[rsuggitt]

Hmmm. Cant help thinking that the manager of the flying school knows all about the school, planes, etc. Whereas the manager of the restaurant knows... all about the restaurant. How the school runs is not his remit.

[Slopey]

but doing the dishes at a flying club who is only half bothered about helping me learn to fly isn't going to get me far, especially as this is a hobby, not a career.

If you want them to be fully bothered about helping you learn to fly - pay for the lessons and get on with it.

[POBJOY]

Still washing up

I think whats needed here is 'SPARKLE' :-
It appears to last longer,cuts through grease,produce's more bubbles,and leaves a great finish with (wait for it) A ZING.
Introduce this to the kitchen,and then they will make you the catering director (unpaid of course)

[Pilot DAR]

I thought about this thread, and the underlying theme today.

I was sitting in a client's office. He owns a maintenance shop which specializes in Lake Amphibians, among other types. His director of maintenance intercommed him to inquire about a particular Lake, which they are reviewing for a potential purchaser. The DoM inquired about a rebuild signed out by a aircraft maintainer I knew as a kid. The name caught my ear, it has been more than 35 years since I have heard of him.

I used to hang around his little airport, and do whatever I could to get near an airplane. He put me to work as a 14 year old, with my first job being scraping off and cleaning excess sealant applied to the hull joints of a Lake. I asked the the DoM what year the maintenance entry was made: 1975. Yup, that was the right year, that would be the same plane. It's still flying today, and up for sale.

A little tiny reminder to me from my very distant past, that volunteering worked out really well for my career in aviation......