"I wondered, why did I win?" Bennett said. "It's my husband who's the crazy person about flying. I just learned to fly because I saw a lady in her 60s at an Oshkosh seminar who got up and talked about the fact she had just gotten her license. It was more of, 'Well, if she can do it, I can do it!' And the first time I ever taxied an airplane, the tower controllers must have fallen out of their chairs laughing - I just didn't understand the concept."
Bennett flew to Long Beach, California, with her husband to collect her prize - several hours of flying in an open-cockpit biplane. "I will never be the same scaredy student pilot I once was," she said. "I never would have had the chance to do any of this had I not won this prize. My husband is ecstatic that I'm so thrilled and excited about the experience."
For a complete first-person account of Bennett's experience, see AOPA Online ( www.aopa.org/whatsnew/newsitems/2002/02-3-110x.html ).
Wright Flyer Is A Tough Bird To Master
Stories about modern-day pilots being unable to control a computer simulation of the Wright Flyer are true. I tried the simulator myself, placing my hips in a cradle to control wing warp for turns and my left hand on a control stick to control pitch. On a screen ahead was a runway at Edwards Air Force Base in California and a picture of a virtual forward canard that changed pitch as I moved the control stick. Control isn't the right word. The aircraft is constantly unstable in both pitch and roll: I crashed on each attempt - after losing control of either pitch or roll - with my longest time aloft being five seconds.
The project to build and fly a Wright Flyer replica in 2003 is directed by retired American Airlines pilot Ken Hyde of Warrenton, Virginia. Hyde declared that I had done "well," despite the absence of a successful landing. Wing-warping refers to scissoring the top and bottom wings to increase the angle of attack on one side of the aircraft. Both wings are hinged to the center section of the aircraft to allow movement without disturbing the engine and propellers.
As Hyde directs his staff toward the completion of two Wright Flyers - one of which will fly at Kill Devil Hill, on North Carolina's Outer Banks, in December 2003 - he is hearing all the controversy that surrounded the Wright brothers before their flight. "It can't fly," he has been told. History tells a different lesson, Hyde notes.
With sponsorship from the Ford Motor Company and the Experimental Aircraft Association, Hyde has built a workshop - some might call it Smithsonian South - on his property. (AOPA made one of the first donations to his project in 1998.) Call it forensic aviation - the attempt not only to build a reproduction, but also to discover exactly how it was done. To learn more visit the Web site ( www.wrightexperience.com ).
Alton K. Marsh
Share Expenses With A Fellow Pilot
Are you an aircraft owner looking for a way to cut operating costs, or a new pilot interested in expanding your aviation horizons?
The Pilot Flight Sharing Network (PFSN) is an Internet-based company that says it has an answer for both questions. Aircraft owners register with PFSN and schedule planned or contemplated flights. Other pilots who are interested in sharing expenses may register, scan flights, and contact the aircraft owners.
The annual registration fee is $85 for aircraft owners and $45 for pilot passengers. For more information, see the company's Web site ( www.pfsn.us ).
Helicopter Simulator Gets FAA Nod For VFR Work
The Professional Helicopter Simulator (PHS) manufactured by Flyit Simulators has received FAA approval for VFR training operations, the company announced. The FAA allows up to 7.5 hours of simulator time toward the 30 to 40 hours required to receive a VFR helicopter rating, so use of the simulator could help to reduce a helicopter student's training expenses. The PHS has already been approved as a flight simulation device for IFR training. The simulator, which costs less than $100,000, is less expensive to maintain than an actual helicopter. For more information, see the company's Web site ( www.flyit.com ).
Ninety-Nines Announce Scholarships
The New England Section of The Ninety-Nines has announced five 2003 scholarships available to men and women who are studying for a career in aviation or seeking to earn additional ratings.
The Eastern New England chapter will award three scholarships: the ENE Memorial Scholarship for $1,000 (open to men and women); Karla Carroll Memorial Scholarship for $1,000 (also open to men and women); and the William Bridge Scholarship for $1,000 (open to women with at least a private pilot certificate). The New England chapter is also reviving a long-dormant $1,000 scholarship memorializing New Hampshire pilot Shirley Mahn, who died in the mid-1970s. The deadline to apply for the scholarships is January 31, 2003. They will be awarded in the spring. For criteria and applications, telephone Katharine Barr, 978/664-2636, or e-mail ( [email protected] ).
The Connecticut chapter will award a $500 scholarship, available to women residing in or studying in Connecticut. Call Beth Robinson at 860/354-9920. The application deadline is May 1, 2003.
Interest Up In Be A Pilot Program
Despite the effects from the terrorist attacks last year, interest in taking a Be A Pilot introductory flight lesson is up 4.2 percent in 2002. Be A Pilot is an industry-sponsored program that encourages people to learn to fly.
"Many flight schools report business close to normal or better, a surprisingly good year," said Drew Steketee, Be A Pilot president. "Moreover, FAA data show that 2002 student certificates issuance hit 39,733 in July, also up 4 percent - the best pace since 1993."
Steketee said Be A Pilot's upgraded Web site ( www.beapilot.com ) has attracted more than 500,000 visitors so far this year. Nearly 20 percent of those interested in flying visit its "Find a Flight School" feature. Users can then print a $49 certificate for the first lesson.
School News
Diamond, Embry-Riddle Get Air Force Contract
The U.S. Air Force has selected Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to provide primary flight training for cadets at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The contract, worth $24.5 million over eight years, requires Embry-Riddle to provide ground and flight instruction, aircraft, and aircraft maintenance.
About 500 cadets will be trained annually. The program was to have begun in October with an initial fleet of 14 aircraft; the fleet is expected to grow to as many as 35 aircraft by the end of 2003. Diamond Aircraft will supply the new training fleet. It developed and certified a special version of its Teledyne Continental-powered DA20-C1 all-composite two-seat aircraft featuring greater fuel capacity, increased cabin height, a reversed instrument panel, and Garmin avionics. The contract (initially starting with a $14.5 million phase) calls for a 50-hour flight-training program that results in a private pilot certificate.
The Academy Introductory Flight Training program is necessary to prepare graduates for Air Force Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training (SUPT). Without the training, SUPT attrition rates rose in 1997-1998 from the single digits to more than 20 percent at some bases. The Diamond trainers will be used only at the Air Force Academy. A similar pilot-screening program at Hondo, Texas, was halted in 1997 after three air crews at the academy were killed in T3-A Firefly aircraft then used at both Hondo and Colorado Springs. The operation at Hondo remains halted, and the Firefly aircraft are still there, not flying and on minimum-maintenance status awaiting disposition instructions from the Air Force.
AKM
New Hampshire School Adds More Cfis To Support Incoming Class
Daniel Webster College recently started training 25 new flight instructors in preparation for the incoming 2007 graduating class. This brings the flight instructor core at the Nashua, New Hampshire, college to 50 CFIs supporting 275 Aviation Flight Operations majors.
The school reports that inquiries about professional pilot careers have actually increased since September 11, 2001, and steady growth in the college's aviation program has created a need for new instructors.
The new CFIs attend 18 credit hours of graduate-level courses to help them teach more effectively in the college's fleet, which consists of 19 Cessna 172s, four Grob 109B motorgliders, five Cap 10B aerobatic trainers, four Mooney M20Js, and three twin-engine Cessna T303s. Almost half of the new instructors are Daniel Webster graduates.
University Of Louisiana-Monroe Adds Full-Motion Flight Simulators
The University of Louisiana at Monroe (ULM) has decided to make a major investment in the quality of its aviation programs. The school recently decided to buy three Motus full-motion flight simulators from Fidelity Flight Simulation.
The contract includes a single-engine piston, twin-engine piston, and twin-engine turboprop flight simulator that will be located in the newly constructed William T. Hemphill Airway and Computer Science Building on the university campus.
"We will turn out not only well-trained pilots, but safer pilots thanks to these new simulators," said Paul Karlowitz, interim head of the school's aviation department.
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