My name is Joel Shumway. I got my pilot's license from Scudder Solutions.

I became interested in flying as a kid. My mom's side of the family is all from Upper Peninsula, Michigan. And so we would fly from, like, Salt Lake back there every couple of years. And being on like big commercial jets was always really cool. And then after I got out of high school, I got into avionics installs. So I was working on all the radios and all the wiring, did that for a few years. And then my buddy was flying survey and they needed an operator for the equipment and he gave me an opportunity to come do that with him. And just seeing him fly just really gave me the bug to really want to pursue this.

At my previous flight school I had a really good instructor that I really liked and I got along with. But some of the challenges was I never knew my schedule. Usually the night before I would kind of get an idea, but it would always change which while you're trying to learn new things and like study and also fly, that was a huge challenge. Another challenge was mixed personality is between all the instructors as well. So some days you'd have to switch instructors to somebody that would do things completely different than the instructor that you've really been jiving with.

Leaving my other school. I felt excited I was feeling really helpless at my other school, I didn't really know where to turn. I felt very fresh that there was more doors that were going to open and making a decision to leave. 

One of the students at my previous flight school, I become kind of close with and he came here and kept advertising, I guess, for me to come over and just seeing how happy he was here made me really question where I was at. He paid for an intro flight for me to come over here and I did an intro flight and that's what sold me.

Compared to my old school, Scuds instructors teach at a much higher level just because of the experience they have. They're not going just by reading off of a book then telling you to go fly it. They'll actually show you it and give you real life experience. And they really help instill like a lot of that confidence in their students to be able to go out and execute these things on their own. They were happy, they smiled, they seemed very relaxed and they seemed like they really enjoyed what they were doing. As to where my old flight school, they were definitely put through a grind and you could see it in their eyes.

I had like some health issues this summer that grounded me, but the instructors here have always been really helpful in like helping adapt to my schedule. As soon as I was cleared, they were able to come back and push me through in a very timely manner to be able to complete some of my ratings. 

A huge milestone that made me realize that I made the right decision was my first instruction flight here was like a pre-solo prep. At my previous school, I didn't feel like I had adequate training. And when I went up to do, like, an evaluation before, they would release me to go and do my solo, they failed me for a number of reasons. When I came to Scud, I was endorsed based off the bat based on that I did everything safe and I did everything right, and I felt confident and actually in control of what I was doing. Another huge milestone was doing my first off airport landing without an instructor was like a huge accomplishment for me. That felt like I was actually like making it and doing it.

Scuds training has really helped me build my confidence based off of the instruction that I'm receiving is like top notch.

Looking back from my training, from my previous school and then coming to Scud and actually becoming like a licensed endorsed pilot, I know I made the right choice in switching schools based off of just how happy I am. I have the ability to have more control over my own schedule and I can actually have fun while I'm flying. And I'm not just doing a grind.

A big role of the school in being able to like, help me achieve my goals was to help me not just be like a mediocre pilot and actually become a pretty decent pilot.

Scud is really good about helping students be confident and actually well trained to go into a job and actually execute said job compared to a lot of schools where a lot of their students don't really understand what they're doing or why they're doing certain things, and it just kind of sets them up for failure as to where here you're going to go and feel good about what you're doing.

Any advice I would give to pilots who are struggling at their current flight schools, I would strongly recommend finding a school where you fit in and you feel comfortable and that you find exceptional instruction from. 

I would recommend Scud to pilots who are struggling in schools or setbacks in their career to give Scud a try based off of the instruction that you will receive and the type of flying that you're going to receive. One you're going to have a lot more fun than you would at most other schools, and you're also going to get better real world experience, especially within like the backcountry flying that they do here.

My life's definitely feels more completed. Being able to, go out and rent a plane and go and take people out over like the Great Salt Lake and land on, like, Fremont Island and just show a completely different side of the world that I feel a majority of pilots miss out on.

My biggest takeaway from this place has been the ability to push myself and find new boundaries. My experience here has been really fun and really remarkable.