A Mentor in Action
"Of course as a kid, I loved airplanes, but I never thought ..." Dale Taglilatelo's voice fades as he attempts to explain how he got started in flying. "I thought learning to fly was just too difficult."
"Wannabe" pilots often let misconceptions about cost, training time, or difficulty keep them groundbound. In Taglilatelo's case, coworker and AOPA member Tony Pinto of Cocoa, Florida, corrected the misconceptions and got him flying.
AOPA Project Pilot asks AOPA members to identify and mentor new pilots, a role Pinto assumed with Taglilatelo. Pinto recognized Taglilatelo as a potential pilot and flying buddy and invited him to summertime NASCAR races in Talladega, Alabama. Casually he offered the controls and said, "Here, hold this while I get the charts." Maintaining altitude and heading, Taglilatelo soon was thinking to himself: "I can do this; this isn't too hard."
Pinto enrolled his friend from Melbourne, Florida, in Project Pilot, in part for the steady stream of newsletters on training issues and motivation that help to keep new students active and enthusiastic. (Newsletter articles on landings are still in Pinto's briefcase!)
As a mentor, Pinto offered his friend money-saving hints, such as buying "block time" in airplanes at FBOs. Pinto's wife, Terry, an A&P, added her expertise. After less than a year of flight training, Taglilatelo had his private pilot certificate.
Not long after, when Taglilatelo was ready to buy an airplane, Pinto recommended a toll-free call to AOPA. Taglilatelo asked about Piper Warriors and other ownership topics. "I didn't realize that AOPA would go back through its archives of different aircraft models .... I got 2 days' worth of reading on Warriors," exclaimed Taglilatelo. He also was able to determine a fair purchase price on the 1979 Piper Warrior that he was considering and chose AOPA to secure his loan and insure his Warrior.
"I guess you could say I've used all of AOPA's services," admits Taglilatelo, "from my first flight to buying an airplane."
To do your part to help rebuild general aviation, use the coupon below to enroll a qualified friend or coworker in AOPA Project Pilot.
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