The Next Logical Step
For 51-year-old Bill McBride of Santa Cruz, California, learning to fly always seemed just barely out of reach. AOPA member Richard (Rick) Damon changed that with the help of AOPA Project Pilot.
"When I was in the Air Force in the 1960s, I used to peek into the cockpits of F-105s and dream," McBride said. "I've always been fascinated with airplanes and the people who fly them, but I never took the next logical step."
In 1994, Damon helped McBride to take that "next logical step" by nominating him as a Project Pilot student. The two knew each other both professionally and as friends; Damon is a Santa Cruz attorney, and McBride owns a court-reporting firm he started after serving as a juror at the Charles Manson murder trial in the early 1970s.
"Rick sent me the AOPA Project Pilot package, and it was extremely motivating," recalls McBride. "I watched the video and read the materials. It made flying look so interesting [that] it kind of put into words exactly what I was feeling."
As a Project Pilot mentor, Damon took his friend flying and offered answers to questions that the prospective student had long suppressed. He introduced McBride to United Flight Services, Inc., at the Watsonville, California, airport and stood back as the fledgling aviator found his wings in one of the school's Cessna 172s.
"I thought I'd try one flight, just to see if I'd like it," he said. "I thought I'd just sit there and enjoy the ride, but my instructor made me do the preflight and start the engine myself. Then I taxied out and actually pulled the yoke back myself for takeoff. I didn't expect that."
Crosswind landings and steep turns were particularly difficult for McBride, but Damon stayed close to his Project Pilot nominee. "He helped me over the rough spots," said McBride. During his training, the two made a pilgrimage to Oshkosh for the annual show, an experience both men still cherish.
McBride passed his private pilot checkride in July 1995 and has now logged nearly 200 hours. "If it hadn't been for Rick and AOPA Project Pilot, I'd probably still have my feet firmly planted on the ground," he said.
Do your part to rebuild general aviation. Identify a friend or coworker who has the interest, time, and finances to learn to fly, then nominate him or her as an AOPA Project Pilot student. Use the coupon below or call the AOPA Pilot Information Center at 800/USA-AOPA (872-2672).
