For some people, learning to fly is a dream. A few of us are lucky enough to realize that dream. For Dinko Skerlev, though, learning to fly is only part of the dream. He has much bigger plans, which include a career as a pilot and a romantic flight to retrieve his wife, now living half a planet away in Bulgaria.
Skerlev took the first step in fulfilling his dream this spring when he soloed a Cessna Skyhawk off the long, wide runway slicing a north-south path across the plains near Independence, Kansas. There, in the shadow of the new Cessna factory, he reached a goal set years earlier when he was a child growing up in Bulgaria.
"I ran cross-country in Bulgaria, and my daily runs used to take me past the airport in the city where I grew up. I'd look through the fence at the airplanes and dream of learning to fly, but I knew I could never afford to do it in Bulgaria," says Skerlev. In 1991, he won a U.S. collegiate scholarship in track and field and emigrated to America.
After graduation, he went to work for Cessna at its sprawling new Independence facility and immediately started flight training at a school on the airport. A few months ago, when the Wichita-based Cessna Employees Flying Club started operations in Independence, Skerlev was the first to sign up. Since then, he has earned the distinction of being the first employee to solo at the club's new branch. He now flies the club's 1982 Skyhawk almost every day. "I flew 5 of the last 7 days," he says. "The other 2 it rained." He has already completed some cross-country flights and hopes to earn his private certificate by the end of this month.
Besides fulfilling a dream, Skerlev's piloting skills also give him new appreciation for the work he does every day in the Cessna factory. He and a team of colleagues build small parts for the new 172s and 182s flowing off the assembly line, and even parts for the 206s that will soon be manufactured. If you buy one of these new airplanes, chances are Skerlev had a part in assembling the door latches, floorboards, bulkheads, and engine baffles. As a pilot, he can fully appreciate the need for a door that doesn't pop open in flight.
That's just the sort of insight that Cessna hopes its new flight reimbursement program will bring to company employees. "The more our employees know about aviation, the more they will understand the products they design, manufacture, sell, and support," explains Gary Hay, vice chairman of Cessna. "That increased work-force knowledge will become a tangible benefit to the company in every aspect of its mission."
Under the reimbursement program, Cessna Employees Flying Club (CEFC) members earn $500 for soloing and $1,000 for each of six additional ratings or certificates, including private and commercial certificates, instrument rating, CFI, CFII, and single-engine ATP. In all, Cessna will pay as much as $6,500 to a pilot earning all the certificates and ratings.
According to Kirby Ortega, president of CEFC, the club was formed in 1946 by longtime Cessna President Dwane Wallace. The club started with two Cessna 120s. By the late 1970s, it had grown to 35 aircraft and about 500 members, including Cessna employees and those working for companies doing business with Cessna.
Today, the club has 15 aircraft and about 400 members, an increase of about 60 members since the first of the year, when Cessna announced the new reimbursement program. Among the fleet are eight 172s, two 172RGs, three 182s, and two 210s. Members pay from $25.50 an hour wet for the 172s up to just $63 an hour wet for the 210s. Monthly dues are $25, but Cessna pays half. For many years, Cessna has reimbursed employees $210 for the successful completion of a ground school course.
While the reimbursement program seems a natural for the general aviation airframe companies, it was an airliner manufacturer that made the most news last year when it announced such a program. Ron Woodard, president of the Boeing Commercial Airplane Group, soloed a Cessna 172 last summer and decided that it would be good for all his employees to know what it's like to fly. To assist the employees, he began a program that reimbursed them $500 for soloing and $1,000 for earning a pilot certificate. Last March, the program was expanded companywide, and now all employees of The Boeing Company can earn the reimbursement.
Raytheon Aircraft, too, has a program to help its employees learn to fly. According to the lore around the company, the Beech Flying Club is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, continuously operated flying clubs in the country. In fact, it's so old that no one we spoke to at Raytheon could remember when it was started. The Beech Flying Club is located at Beech Field in Wichita and is open to all employees of Raytheon Aircraft and their families. More than 200 members have use of 11 aircraft, from Beech Sundowners to Bonanzas and a Duchess. The rental rates for the aircraft run about half of those at flight schools and FBOs. In addition, Raytheon provides hangars, parts, utilities, and fuel at minimal cost to the club.
For Gary Collinsworth, the club means that he can afford to fly around in some very nice airplanes at a fraction of the cost he might otherwise pay. Collinsworth is an experimental flight mechanic at Raytheon whose primary job is to see that the flight test airplanes are ready to fly when the test pilots arrive. He had started flight training several times before coming to work at what was then Beech Aircraft. The reduced rates at the flying club, though, are what made it possible for him to earn his private certificate about a decade ago. Since then he has used the club's Duchess to earn a multiengine rating. Now he uses the airplanes to take his family on vacation and to visit relatives. He's currently working on an instrument rating. It's even becoming a family affair for the Collinsworths; Gary's son now works for Raytheon, and he, too, will be learning to fly. "A lot of people we talk to decide to come to work at Raytheon because of the availability of the airplanes, especially the Bonanzas. It's a real attraction," says Collinsworth.
The New Piper Aircraft has its own take on helping employees learn to fly. Forty employees recently completed the company's first ground school class. Twelve of those graduates are now signed up to begin flight training in a new Warrior and Archer that the company makes available at a reduced rate. Those who complete a ground school course and pass the written earn a $70 credit and a free hour of flight training.
Mooney Aircraft does not yet have a flying club or training reimbursement, but it is considering the purchase of an airplane for its employees.
Diamond Aircraft in Canada has taken a unique approach to helping its employees enjoy the fruits of their labor. A little over a year ago, the company donated to the employees the materials necessary to build an airplane. The employees built the aircraft on their own time — after work hours and on weekends. The employees then turned to Diamond suppliers to donate the engine, avionics, and other components. The vendors all came through, and today the Diamond employees have one of the most spectacular Katanas flying anywhere. It includes a full IFR panel, leather interior, and gold engraved seat belt buckles.
"Diamond's philosophy is that flying is for just about everybody," says Mike Guth, president of the Diamond Flying Club. "Our flying club consists of a wide range of employees who all pitched in to do their part. It was great to see secretaries, office personnel, and aircraft assembly technicians all working together on Saturdays and evenings to complete the aircraft. The espirit de corps the project created among the employees went far beyond the aircraft construction, and the entire project turned into a social learning experience."
Now the aircraft is available exclusively to the employees, who use it for flight training and as a display of pride at various airshows and events. The company performs maintenance on the airplane at a reduced rate. In the end, the cost to the employees is about $20 a flight hour.
While such programs are terrific opportunities for the employees, the real beneficiaries are all pilots. An aircraft designed and assembled by a person who understands flying is surely a more efficient and reliable machine. Boeing's Woodard said it best: "Flying is a core competency for our airline customers, and the more pilots we have in BCAG, the better we will understand our customers' business. Learning to fly is one of the best things I have ever done."
For Cessna's Skerlev, though, learning to fly is not the end; it's a beginning. He dreams of flying an airliner — maybe one built by Woodard's knowledgeable staff. "I want to fly a multiengine aircraft across the ocean someday and bring my wife back," Skerlev says confidently. His wife recently graduated from law school in Bulgaria, but she can't emigrate to the United States because Skerlev is not yet a citizen. He must wait 2 more years to begin that process. "That will be a good flight. I am getting ready for it now," he says.
