Captain Robert Hunt praised for developing one of the world’s most successful airline-training programs
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Praised by colleagues for having developed “one of the most successful airline-training programs in the world,” Captain Robert Hunt is known for being approachable, calm, patient and empathetic about the challenges of becoming an airline pilot. He also respects different learning styles. For instance, when a new pilot candidate was struggling because of a learning disability, Hunt contacted experts in the academic field for input, and then created a program tailored to the fledgling aviator’s needs. The pilot went on to have a successful 20-year career at Horizon Air before retiring.
When the airline introduced iPad flight manuals eight years ago, Hunt spearheaded creation of numerous videos that play on the device and show pilots doing things right in various scenarios. And as he develops curricula for new-hire to longtime pilots, as well as for simulator instructors and check pilots, he uses extensive data collection, including from actual flights, to provide the best training.
“My job is training and checking,” says Hunt, who is based in Portland, Oregon, and whose current work as chief flight instructor on Horizon’s fleet of Embraer 175 jets includes conducting simulator training and evaluating pilot performance. “It is awesome to develop successful pilots, compliant with standards, who fly well and get our guests from A to B safely every day,” he says.
“Our pilots are talented and well-trained. They take their initial and continuing training very seriously.”— Capt. Hunt
Hunt, who is renowned for being an exceptionally skilled pilot himself, is following in the airline-industry footsteps of his commercial pilot father and aircraft mechanic grandfather. Hunt joined Horizon in 1990, attracted by Alaska Air Group’s safety culture and reputation for service. His prior experience included piloting floatplanes and ski planes in the Arctic for a Canadian company. “It was challenging to land those planes smoothly—I got lots of practice.”
Questions & Answers
What are favorite parts of your job? Working with outstanding colleagues, including everyone in Flight Operations. Also, I have enjoyed opportunities to do cool projects, such as test-flying the “fog buster” Heads-Up Guidance System for the Q400 and CRJ-700 for Horizon, being one of the first commercial pilots in the world to autoland the Embraer 175, and being part of the cadre that helped bring the E175 onboard at Horizon starting in 2016. I love flying the E175. It’s a phenomenal aircraft—well designed and thought out. The cockpit is very advanced. Another aspect of my Horizon job that I like is not having to commute to other parts of the country for work. I get to stay in the West.
What’s on your travel wish list? I’ve been to every continent but Antarctica, so maybe my wife and daughter and I will get there some day. My wife would also like to visit the Grand Canyon—it does look cool whenever I fly over it.
What do you take with you on a trip? Music. I play the guitar, and I used to bring it with me when I traveled, but that got to be too cumbersome, so now I just make sure to have lots of music on my phone.
What are philosophies you live by? Stick things out. Strive to stay happy and positive. Avoid drama, even under stress. Have a good sense of humor.
What advice do you have for employees about how to succeed at Horizon Air and Alaska Air Group? Always be learning, whether you do it on your own or tap into the many resources at the company. Talk to other people and learn from their experiences. It makes you so much better at whatever you are doing.
Praise for Rob
“Rob is a natural-born leader. He’s calm, cool and collected. He knows his stuff, and he has the right stuff. If he tells you he’s going to do something, you can take that to the bank. And he does everything with a smile. Rob and I worked together for years in the Standards and Training Department, and we also tested aircraft together. I’ve seen firsthand how talented and impressive he is with an airplane. In his current role as chief instructor for the E175, he is again demonstrating his calm, steady hand and experience, and achieving outstanding results.” —Perry S., Q400 Captain, Check Airman and Lead Flight Operations Duty Officer, Portland
Horizon Air employees such as Robert Hunt are the reason for our excellence. Join us in creating an airline people love. Visit horizonair.jobs.
Cameron, winemaker for Broken Earth since 2010, samples again when the morning’s harvest arrives at the winery facility 26 miles away. 2 tons of grapes cascade from the truck into the crusher/de-stemmer, which pipes the merlot juice and skins into two-story-tall stainless steel tanks to ferment. Cameron will taste at every step of his grapes’ journey, using a glass tube “wine thief” to draw a sample of an elegant young cabernet franc – his favorite from last year’s barrels.
“The climate is quite warm during the day but typically quite cool at night, and the relative humidity is fairly low. So that keeps disease pressures low. The upside of that is that everything will get ripe – but that’s also the downside because everything can get very ripe. You’ve got to be careful that you don’t end up with wines that are too big, too alcoholic and too soft. They tend to lose their varietal characters if they get too ripe. I like wines to stay brighter and more true to form so they’ve got the correct varietal definition. Paso allows you to grow a whole bunch of different varietals. It’s a bit too warm for the likes of sauvignon blanc, riesling and pinot noir, but it does a lot of things well, including both Bordeaux and Rhone-based varieties that don’t really occur many places. Apart from a handful of grapes you can kind of grow anything.”
The Broken Earth Winery tasting room is open daily at 1650 Ramada Dr., Paso Robles, CA. Phone: 805-239-2562. 
Kelsey grew up going to summer fly-ins in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, with her uncle, who encouraged her love for aviation. She saved up for flying lessons and did her first solo at 16 in a Cessna 150. Now, with 14 years of flying for Alaska Airlines and 23 years of serving in the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, Kelsey has flown aircraft that could swallow that two-seat Cessna whole. This fall, she’s taking a month away from her Alaska job to coordinate Air Force operations in New Zealand in support of National Science Foundation missions in Antarctica.
“Flying into Antarctica is amazing, challenging and unique. McMurdo Station is one of the most remote locations on the planet. We land on a runway that’s 10,000 feet long and is made by compacting snow. During winter flights, there are no runway lights or markings, just reflectors along the edges of the runway. We use night vision goggles to land during a time of year where the temps are as cold as minus 60 F, and the sun doesn’t rise for nearly four months.”
“The hardest part is juggling your time. I think people would be surprised at how hard we work. A typical pilot flying the C-17 will work five days a month as a minimum, in addition to their full-time job at Alaska. Sometimes we fly in for Alaska in the morning and go straight to the base.”
“We work on the planes all night, and then you get that instant satisfaction: The plane was broken when it came in, and you’re able to fix it. In the morning, we take our planes from the hangar to the gate. Twenty minutes later, passengers are getting on, and they’re off to Hawaii or wherever.”
“You have to keep them all balanced. Alaska is helpful and pretty much allows me to take
my military time, no matter what. And my wife takes a lot of the burden, too. With the two of them, I have a pretty good support system. I would love to serve a total of 20 years. And as much as I love serving my country, I’m also looking forward to having a family and serving them.”
“We have a state mission responsibility, for example, in hurricane response. We also fly missions to India, Korea, Australia, Japan, Philippines and DPAA (Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency) recovery missions in Vietnam and Laos, just to name a few—all operations inherent to our strategic location in the Pacific Theater.”
“I bunch my Alaska flying time in a more compact schedule, just like other commuters commuting long distances. I work to be as efficient as possible to get my flying done for the company and my drills done for the Guard. It’s no different from a lot of reservists and Guardsmen you see throughout the company. They all have this commitment.”
Photo courtesy Daniel Chun
“We’ll perform in concert halls or high school gymnasiums, inside and outside. Rain, thunder, snow—it doesn’t matter. I’ve played for an audience of 12, and I’ve played for thousands.”
joined, I know him a little better. I would love to do 20 years and retire like my dad.”
