BalloonLife,October1999

12

Knowing ahead of time how hard a task is
going to be gives us an idea of how much
effort we have toput intothe project and
whether we really want to do it ourselves
or delegate it to someone else. Consider-
inga U.S. populationof a little over 260
millionandthe factthatwehave about
750,000pilotsinthe FAA files, medical
ornot, we quickly find that approximately
one person out of every 350 that we meet
already has a pilot’s license. So taking this
madnessjust alittle further, weseethat
only 20,000 of those pilots have a balloon
certificate or only 1 person out of every 38
licensedpilots.
Ifyouarereadytostartrecruiting,
just stop the next 137,000 people and ask
them to considergoing fora balloon flight.
Youshouldfillyourquotaonthevery
first sweep.
The problem that most of us encoun-
ter iswhenthey say“yes.” Now whatdo
we do? Well, youshould have your sales
pitch ready for them. Youget about one
minute totalandonlyone chance tosell
yourselfandyourproduct.Withallthe
different things available nowadays com-
peting for their entertainmentdollar and
hours, yourpitchhastobe good.Know
aheadoftimewhatquestionstheyare
goingtoask andwhat answers they want
to hear. Be prepared to tell the truth about
cost, time required, dangers, advantages,
equipment, pitfalls,limitations,andcer-
tainlythefuntheycanexpecttohave
flyingandanythingelsetheyneedto
know tomake aqualifiedandeducated
decision.
Be honest about this lifestyle you are
askingthemtoadoptbecauseitalways
seems tome thatyou tendtoruninto the
peoplethatyoulietoorowemoneyto
more often than you do anyone else. Facts

work better than fiction because too soon
theywillfindoutthatyou“puffedthe
goods” and they will turn against you and
flying altogether.
In theory, at least, all you have todo
is ask a lot of people and the students will
materialize. In truth, however, not every-
one wantstofly! We canallthinkof at
leastahundredwaystoentertainour-
selves that do not require using our brains,
somethingthatisrequiredinabundance
whenyou start flying.
Wemustbepreparedtoshowthe
long-term benefits of learning something
we canusefora lifetime, notafadthat
may be gone and forgotten bynext Tues-
day.Trytotielearningtoflyinwitha
computer because, believe it or not, these
twoitems,flyingandcomputers,will
become as one before another five years
passby.Ifyouthinknot,checkoutthe
global positioning systems and then look
at some of the newer flightdirectors and
auto-pilotsystems.Justaskyourchild;
they canexplainittoyou.
Where, ohwhere, tolookfor poten-
tialstudents?Trytheclassrooms,com-
munity gatherings, boardrooms, company
outings, safety seminars,fly-ins,air shows,
airports,fixedbaseoperators,schools,
andabsolutely anywhere that humanbe-
ingscongregate. Learntospeak at meet-
ings and stick with a subject that is inter-
estingandbeneficial to youandto those
that attend. Make yourself available, at no
chargeofcourse,andyouwillbean
instanthitandmuchindemand.Trya
mailinglistofpeopleinyourareathat
order flying typebooks,accessories, cloth-
ing,andsendthemaninvitationtoyour
nextballoonouting.Askyourselfthis
question: As you rememberback to all the
outingsandfestivalsthatyouhaveat-

Searching for Our Future
Balloonists...

by Jim Trusty

Of 750,000 pilots in
the FAA files,
medical or not, we
quickly find that
approximately one
person out of every
350 that we meet
already has a pilot’s
license. Only 20,000
of those pilots have a
balloon certificate or
only 1 person out of
every 13,000.

BalloonLife,October 1999

14

tended over your balloon lifetime, how many people in atten-
dance haveyoupersonallyaskedtogive flyinga chance? You can
probably count them on one thumb, can’t you?
I used to go by a department store thatspecialized inleather
bombing jacketsandwhen I wouldcatch the clerk’s headturned,
I would put one ofmy cards in the jacket pocket forfuture
studentstofind. Did itwork? Findoutfor yourselfor askyourself
what you would do if you found the card.
Successful searching never ends, but it does slow down if
you are doing a good job. A lot of my aviation students were
working on their flightinstructor tickets so I was able to supply
them with students also. It takes such a short time to become
known as a great instructor, or a poor one, that verysoon wordof
mouthreferralswill takeover.Probably agoodthing, too,
because that jacket store clerk was beginning towatch me rather
closely.But,eitherway,good instructororbad7theword
spreads. Each and every student is amark on yourteaching
record. Whether it isa plusor minusdepends onhow wellyou do
the job they are paying you to do. You should be good at doing
something before you contract yourself out to do it. Make sure
you do an excellent job.
Sometimeswegiveup tryingto recruit becauseof the
rejectionswe get, and they can be plentiful. Mostlyyou hear: “It
costs toomuch! Aviation is dead! I’m too busy! I’m tooold! It’s
toodangerous!”Andthe sadthing isthat some of thisis true. Not
beingverygood atmarketingcan becured. Mostof uswerenever
very good at it before because we just didn’t know how, never
needed to know how, and weren’tterribly concerned withlearn-
ing how… but we can learn how to market ourselves and our

product.
We attractpeopletoballoonsjustlike we dotoairplanes, and
we keep in mind that it is an ongoing project for everyone inthe
foldtohelpuswith.Wereallyhave the luxuryof helpingto select
who we spend our free time with and that’s good. One of our
recruiting tools has to be the freedom we get by exercising our
chosen craft. The great equipment we train and fly in, excellent
training programs and instructor and the dedicationthey show to
ballooning, and the events we attend and participate in.
Certainly elaborateon thepositives butdon’t forget to
mentionthe negatives because they seem to rear their ugly heads
rather quickly. Be honest! Whatever you do as you talk with
someoneaboutbecomingamember,alwaysrememberthe
cardinalruleof flightinstruction… theinstructormustbe smarter
than the student—every time.
I wish you every success as you look for new members and
students and know that if you work on this continuously with
everyperson thatyou meet, you willsucceed. Findsomeone who
isdoinga greatjob bringingin pilotsand studentsto your chosen
method of travel and ask them how they have became sogood at
it.I’ve never metanyone inaviationthatdidn’t want totalkabout
the sport.
In closing, remember that peoplethat don’t fly haveno
advantage over those that can’t.

Jim Trusty is a former National Flight Instructor of the Year
(1997) and works daily as a full-time, “Gold Seal” flight instruc-
tor at MQY in Tennessee.