Employee Feature update: Piotr Pawlikowski (PMO)

Since we last spoke with Piotr Pawlikowski in 2019, the senior IT project manager in UIT’s Project Management Office (PMO) has earned an instrument rated pilot certification.

Private pilots certified at this level can fly under instrument flight rules (IFR) in addition to visual flight rules (VFR). Using instruments and electronic signals, IFR-rated pilots are qualified to fly in atmospheric conditions of reduced visibility or in the clouds, when navigation can’t be accomplished by relying on visual references on the horizon and/or ground.

“I loved the idea of meeting the tough requirements of this rating,” Pawlikowski said.

Achieving an instrument rating requires 50 hours of cross-country flight experience and 40 hours of actual or simulated instrument experience. Pawlikowski said his instructors own a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)-approved simulator, which he used to log hours “when the weather prohibited me from actual flying.”

Between work and personal responsibilities, it took Pawlikowski about nine months in 2023 to complete his training. He flew a VFR flight plan from Salt Lake International Airport to Pocatello, Idaho, with his instructor. In summer 2023, Pawlikowski flew to Oregon and back, 550 nautical miles each way, fulfilling his cross-country distance requirements. He’s piloted many shorter flights that the FAA also defines as “cross-country” (e.g., 50 miles between the landing points in straight line). All told, these flights added up to more than the required 50 hours.

Pawlikowski is currently training for his commercial pilot certificate, which he plans to finish this summer.

 

Node 4 Search