More About Me
Matthew Teller
Born and raised in Wichita, KS, I grew up looking at the skies. My father was a broadcast meteorologist, but while he was staring at the clouds, I was transfixed by the airplanes ducking in and around them. Shortly after graduating from Iowa State University, I was off to flight school in Arizona. In the years that followed, I flew the mighty Beech 1900D, DHC-8-400Q, and Saab 340B for a regional airline. This job took my wife and I up and down the East Coast for five years. Next was a move to Denver, where I spent two years flying the Piaggio P-180 under FAR 91k and 135. During this time, we welcomed our son to our family. After receiving my compulsory furlough, we moved down the hill to Wichita where our daughter would be born, and where we've been ever since. After teaching the King Air 350 for three years, I returned to the charter world to fly the 350 for another three years. For nearly a decade, now, I've been flying night cargo, first in the Airbus A300 and now as a captain in the Boeing 757. This has given me ample time to return to my general aviation roots as a Designated Pilot Examiner.
My Aircraft Over the Years
While I've gotten to fly dozens of aircraft recreationally and during checkrides, these are the few I've flown professionally, full-time. They each have their nuances and unique personalities. I'd happily fly any of them again. But please don't ask me my favorite. I'd have an easier time picking a favorite child on any given day, I think.
Small, loud, ugly, smelly. No GPS, no autopilot, no flight attendant. Lots of NDB approaches and no chance of climbing out of the weather. But what an airplane! Surprisingly nimble, capable of stopping on a dime, and wonderfully overpowered for how we flew them. The Mighty Beech was my first turbine aircraft; my first love.
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Beech 1900 - Twice the Pilot,
Half the Pay.
The best pilot I'll ever be was on my last day flying the Beech.
Sleek. Powerful. 5,000HP per engine through 13-foot diameter props turning at only 1,050 RPM at takeoff and 800 RPM at cruise. These planes were factory-fresh when we got them. Quirky little electric systems tied to the UNS-1K FMS, but it had autopilot, ACARS, and the ability to smoke any other turboprop in cruise and then stop alarmingly quickly in the worst of conditions. Just don't get the "Touched Runway" light.
First described to me as a "Dump truck with four flat tires," the Swedish Blender wasn't the hottest performer on the ramp. It was old, lacking GPS, and only had 850 HP in each of its questionably reliable engines. But it could carry almost anything you fit through the door, all of the ice the Northeast could throw at you, and had a whiskey hatch. Plus more DC electrical busses than most small towns.
Ramp presence. The Pistachio is all about ramp presence. Everyone knows a Pillagio is coming based on her unique sound signature and deafening scream from the fast turning props. But once you get inside, it's a whole different experience! Quiet to a fault, fast like you wouldn't expect, slippery in the descent, nearly impossible to keep on a runway, and with a cockpit designed for pilots under 5'5", I'm sure I did permanent damage to my back in this airplane. But I'd fly it again tomorrow, given the opportunity. "Steer One!"
The Suburban of the Skies. If you can fit it through the door, the Super King Air will carry it! And believe me, the passengers tested that theory. It's not the fastest or prettiest plane on the ramp, but it's a fantastic design tied to the nearly bulletproof PT-6As. Other than the lack of ground cooling, you really can't go wrong with a King Air.
The granddaddy Airbus. The first twin-engine widebody and the only Airbus with a yoke. Unless you've flown the Big Bus, it's hard to differentiate from the 767 if you see it on the ramp. But the differences are substantial! While the A300 is older, and was originally designed for a three-crew flight deck, it's systems are brilliant, it flies with just fingertips, and ECAM is phenomenal.
The Baby Pencil Jet. HUD/EFVS, CAT III Autoland. They may all be chop-jobs from around the globe, but the 757 is a tremendously capable aircraft (with wonderfully forgiving landing characteristics).
