By Rob Finfrock

Embry-Riddle aeronautical sciences graduate Yann Bosch, inaugural recipient of the CJP Bob Hoover Presidential Scholarship in 2013, continues to progress through his burgeoning aviation career at a record pace. When CJP last spoke with Yann, he had recently started flying Pilatus PC-12s for Tradewind Aviation with an eye towards eventually transitioning to jets; six months later, that transition is much closer to reality.

“I start training August 1 with SkyWest Airlines on the CRJ200, and CRJ700 and CRJ900,” Yann announced shortly after arriving home to Phoenix, AZ after a whirlwind trip to Indonesia with family. “Ground school should last around 4-6 weeks, then another 3-4 weeks of simulator training followed by IOE [initial operating experience] for 1-2 weeks. If everything goes according to schedule, I should be flying right seat on the line as a reserve pilot by early November.”

SkyWest operates CRJs on behalf of United Airlines and Delta Air Lines. Noting that Tradewind offered “a great opportunity that I really, really enjoyed,” Yann said the new opportunity more closely aligns with his ultimate career goals.

“I really liked the company, but I wasn’t able to build multi time flying a single-engine turboprop,” he added. “Best case scenario, I would have been on the PC-12 for two years before having the chance to transition to the right seat on [Tradewind’s] CJ3s.

“It was a fantastic experience, just with the wrong equipment for what I was looking for,” Yann continued. “The reality was that I need to move into a more beneficial arrangement to build the experience I needed, which meant going to a regional airline. And my research showed that SkyWest was the best in that group.”

Adding that his initial pay is equivalent to what he was making at his former job – “SkyWest pays a living wage, it’s not bad for just starting out and definitely not like it was 10 years ago” – Yann also noted that after his initial training and checkout in the CRJ200, he expects to move into the larger, 70-seat CRJ700 and 76-seat CRJ900s; all three aircraft share a common type rating.

Until then, Yann is focused on making his second trip to EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, WI at the end of July, where he’ll be assisting CJP Founder, Director, and Treasurer Tracy Forrest with running the CJP campground. “I’m really looking forward to seeing a lot of CJP Members there!” he concluded. “It’s amazing how much has changed since I was last there, two years ago.”