Waldo Anderson, ATP, CFII
Former Chief Pilot, University of Minnesota
Has flown Beechcraft products since 1959
33,000+ hours
BPT: Tell us about your career in aviation. We understand you even have some Hollywood movie experience!
WALDO: I did basically all of my flying in Minnesota and even flew for the University of Minnesota for 37 years, ending up as Chief Pilot and Pilot Examiner. In fact, I was an FAA-designated Examiner for 46 years and started teaching with American Bonanza Society (ABS) in BPPP around 1998. In that time, I accumulated approximately 33,000+ hours, in all kinds of equipment, from J, J-3’s to jets. I also flew a 1929 Sikorsky S-38 in the movie “The Aviator” with Leonardo DiCaprio and Cate Blanchett.
BPT: Give us an idea of who you have trained over the years.
WALDO: That’s numerous – probably 30 or 40 pilots flying for airlines. I also taught two of my nephews how to fly airplanes. Both are Captains with Delta right now.
BPT: Given your background, what was so compelling about working with ABS and BPT? What is it about Bonanzas, specifically, that’s so appealing for you?
WALDO: The gentleman who was running the BPT program at the time came to Minnesota for a float rating. He asked if I had any experience with Bonanzas and Barons. Luckily, I did, since we had a 1953 Bonanza that I flew quite a bit when I started with the University of Minnesota in 1960. The University also had Twin Beeches and, eventually, two Barons that we used for transportation. I enjoyed flying all of those, and I had the experience, so the opportunity was ideal.
BPT: Now that you’re so involved with BPT, what would you say is the single biggest benefit it offers for pilots?
WALDO: The staff is exceptionally well-oriented with Baron and Beechcraft products. It’s a big challenge to keep up with all the products that are in airplanes nowadays (glass panels, etc.), but the BPT staff keeps up to speed on all things avionics.