Flying the friendly skies isn’t so fun anymore. The days of complimentary pillows and free checked luggage are long gone. In their stead are long security lines of shoeless passengers and cramped overhead bins.
But that’s for passengers. For pilots, even hobbyists, flying is a liberating way to see the world.
The biggest obstacles to getting a pilot’s license are money and time, according to Joe Nickle, manager of Aero Club Flight Training Center at Dover Air Force Base. Once those are covered, though, flying is something that can be gorgeous and gratifying. Best of all, piloting a small plane with just family or friends means no long lines and more elbow room.
1 What most of us never see
Climbing into the Delmarva skies means seeing the region with fresh eyes. Nickle pointed out that most building is done by roadways, so the area might seem more congested than it actually is. In the air, pilots and their passengers can spot frog-shaped ponds, backyard baseball diamonds, and long stretches of nothing but green fields and trees.
“From the air, everything on the Delmarva [Peninsula] is a few minutes away. There seems to be much more natural landscape with trees and rivers and open farmlands than congested city life,” according to Daniel Boulay, owner and operator of Bird’s Eye View Aviation Services in Middletown. “On a crisp, clear day, one can see from Cape May, N.J., across the Delmarva [Peninsula] and the Route 50 bridge in the Chesapeake, to the rolling hills of Pennsylvania and to the towering skyscrapers of downtown Philly.”
Nickle likes flying in the fall and spring for the comfortable weather, and sometimes visibility.
“Cold fronts clean all the junk out of the air, and visibility goes to 50 or 60 miles,” he said.
2 Getting started
First: Ground school. The Aero Club stopped offering group lessons after too many cancellations. Now potential pilots get one-on-one or small group or family training for the 35 hours of ground training required to get a license. The ground school is self-paced, for the most part, Nickle said. It gives students a feel for flying with a flight simulator, a place to study for their license exam and more.
Most students are eager to learn and progress so getting them to work is fairly easy, Nickle said. It’s also cheaper for them to get through the sessions successfully and quickly.
“If you do your homework, you save money,” he said.
3 Safety first and small plane fears
The aero club has 11 planes, both Cessnas and Pipers that are two- or four-seaters. The small size doesn’t always instill confidence, but the fear that these planes are inherently unsafe is a myth, Nickle said.
“This is not the safest activity in the world, but it’s as safe as you are,” Nickle said. “You can fly for 50 years and never have an accident, or you can fly tomorrow and have one.”
That’s why Nickle practices what he preaches. Before hitting the sky on a sunny August afternoon, longtime pilot Nickle did a thorough examination of the plane inside and out while crossing off his checklist of safety measures.
Then the plane took off, hitting the sky without so much as a bobble.
Boulay said most people want to know what it’s like to fly in a small plane.
“I tell them it is many times like sitting on your couch, but with a great view. Other times it can be like riding down a bumpy dirt road,” he said. “The weather conditions have significant effects if Mother
Nature is on the angry side. Otherwise, it is generally smooth and pleasant flying.”
4 Who can and can’t do it
People have a perception that they have to be amateur mathematicians or scientists to fly. Not so, Nickle said. In fact, if they can do simple addition and subtraction and use a calculator, they should be fine. He said most pilots aren’t meteorologists. They learn enough about the weather to tell when it’s a good day to fly and that suffices.
Those who have recently have a heart attack would need proof from their doctor that they are able, and those on certain drugs and with some uncontrolled chronic diseases are banned from flying.
Nickle said qualifying physically in the Federal Aviation Administration’s eyes can be easier than passing an annual doctor’s physical.
Otherwise, pilots need to be at least 17 years old, although they can start younger by going up on a joyride with an experienced pilot.
5 Starting young
“Flying with the little ones is always great fun, seeing the amazement in their faces and wondering if one day, they, too, will be a pilot sharing the skies,” Boulay said.
Nickle said they sometimes get students who are too young to start seriously training for the license, so he guides them toward the Cadets program of the Civil Air Patrol, the U.S. Air Force Auxiliary.
Cadets are students 12 to 18 who are thinking about a career in or seriously interested in aviation, space or the military.
They can visit www.gocivilairpatrol.com for more information.
Email Sarika Jagtiani at sarika.jagtiani@doverpost.com.
