Project Pilot Update

AOPA Project Pilot gives experienced pilots a way to share their love of flight by mentoring student pilots. Backed by the resources of AOPA, mentors help guarantee the best possible introduction of flying, form first flight to checkride.

Success story

I was the AOPA Project Pilot mentor for my son, Jared Clark, AOPA 4538229. Jared took his flight training at Merritt Island Airport in Florida. He was set to solo on his sixteenth birthday on September 2, 2002. When we arrived at the airport the winds were not favorable because of the remnants of a tropical storm. Merritt Island Airport is on the same spit of land as the Kennedy Space Center, and one of the space shuttle astronauts, Col. James D. Halsell Jr., was at the airport that day with his young son. When he heard that my son might solo, he decided to hang around to witness the event and be there to congratulate Jared. He said that his first solo was one of the most memorable moments of his life, and he remembered every minute of it — this from a man who had orbited the Earth on more than one space mission as a shuttle pilot. The weather did not cooperate, and Jared's solo didn't take place until two weeks later. Halsell followed up, though, to find out how Jared's solo went. And now an autographed picture from the next commander of STS-120 congratulating Jared on his first solo is hanging in his bedroom. The aviation/aerospace fraternity is truly unique and filled with wonderful people — all of whom have a common bond, the love of the freedom of flight.

Become an AOPA Project Pilot mentor!

If you're ready to encourage someone who wants to become a student pilot, then you're ready to become an AOPA Project Pilot mentor. Visit the Web site ( www.aopa.org/info/pp/) to enroll yourself and a student pilot nominee who has the time, the resources, and the desire to learn to fly.

An expanded version of "Project Pilot Update" is available online. Visit www.aopa.org/info/pp/ and click on the link Project Pilot Update.

We welcome your photos. While we can't guarantee publication, we encourage following the photo guidelines available online ( www.aopa.org/info/pp/) or by calling 800/USA-AOPA (800/872-2672). For more information or to nominate someone for AOPA Project Pilot, please go to the Web site ( www.aopa.org/info/pp/).