www.AOPAProjectPilot.org
Pilot Erik Lindbergh has teamed with AOPA as the national spokesperson for AOPA Project Pilot. The grandson of Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Erik will use his time and his family legacy to help rebuild general aviation for the future.
Who do you know that might be interested in becoming a pilot? Who in your life, with a little encouragement from you, might take up the challenge of learning to fly? Who can you think of that has a sense of adventure and even a small desire to take to the air?
According to statistics, since 1980, the total U.S. population has grown by 25 percent, while the pilot population has declined by the same percentage. And, worse, student starts are down by more than twice that rate.
Becoming a pilot is one of the most exhilarating and rewarding things a person can do. However, if someone hadn't encouraged me, I never would have discovered the joy of flight. No, that someone was not my grandfather, Charles A. Lindbergh who made the first nonstop flight between New York and Paris in 1927, flying the Spirit of St. Louis. In fact, a friend of mine was learning to fly and he kept bugging me to try it. I went up on an introductory flight and said, "This is cool!"
My grandfather inspired people to dream of the magic of flight. You can make a difference by finding just one person. If each of you find one prospective pilot, help them get started, and support them throughout their flight training, imagine the result!
Share your enthusiasm for flight with someone you know who has the desire and the means to begin learning to fly. Through AOPA Project Pilot, the tools you need to get started as a Mentor are just a mouse-click away at www.AOPAProjectPilot.org.
You don't have to be a flight instructor and you don't have to fly across the Atlantic; just share your passion, knowledge of aviation, and your own rich flying experiences. Your participation costs you nothing but gives you the tremendous pride of knowing you helped expand general aviation and helped to foster the dream of flight in another person that will last a lifetime.
With the help of all 408,000 members of AOPA, we can keep general aviation alive and prosperous in this second century of flight. Together, we can reverse the trend that has reduced the number of pilots 25 percent in the last 25 years.
The sky is no longer the limit!
Erik Lindbergh
www.ErikLindbergh.com
AOPA launches new Project Pilot program at Fly-In
AOPA President Phil Boyer formally unveiled the enhanced Project Pilot program at the AOPA Fly-In and Open House on Saturday, June 3. Project Pilot director Sue Walitsky demonstrated the ease of the redesigned Web site during the open house at headquarters . More than 250 people attended the question-and-answer session with spokesman Erik Lindbergh to hear how the association is calling on its greatest asset — its members — to share the passion and increase the number of new pilots in the aviation community . "If we don't, who will?" asked Boyer. Five flags are now flying outside AOPA headquarters in Frederick, Maryland. Each one has its own symbolic meaning. There's one each for the United States, Maryland, AOPA, the AOPA Air Safety Foundation, and now AOPA Project Pilot. Boyer and Lindbergh raised the last flag during the Fly-In .
AOPA Project Pilot online
It's easy to sign up now on AOPA's new, redesigned Web site
Mentoring a student pilot is easy, rewarding and only takes a few minutes a week. You don't have to be a flight instructor, just a pilot who wants to pass along his or her experiences with the next generation of aviators.
Get started with Project Pilot now. It's as easy as logging into the members-only pages of the AOPA Web site. First, go to www.AOPAProjectPilot.org. Click on the icon for Mentors.
Now look for the orange and blue square that says "Sign Up Now to Be a Mentor." You only need to do this once. In the future, the Web site usually will remember your name.
Now simply enter your username and password just as you do for the AOPA Web site. There is no need for you to re-enter any of your personal info because we already have it on file.
If you know a prospective pilot or student pilot who you would like to mentor, enter their name, e-mail, and mailing address. Read through and accept the terms and conditions of the program, double-check the e-mail address is correctly typed, and click "submit." That's all there is to it. Your prospective student will receive an e-mail inviting them to participate in Project Pilot. Encourage the student to accept quickly so he or she — and you — can take advantage of everything www.AOPAProjectPilot.org has to offer.
Success story
South Carolina (SPK) — "I finally met Lyle Jones, the student I'd been mentoring (left), in person for the first time on June 20. I invited him to do some touch and goes with me. I quickly learned he was not an ordinary presolo student. His knowledge of aerodynamics and flying in general was outstanding. We preflighted the airplane and began to taxi to Runway 23 but the wind shift during the taxi necessitated a switch to Runway 5. We did a few touch and goes and I explained a few of the mental notes I tell myself while setting up for landings. After our run around the tracks, Lyle got in with his instructor and began his usual lesson. After a few touch and goes, his instructor cut Lyle loose for his first solo — and I got to be there! The Mentor program benefits all students, CFIs, and the private pilot that participates in the program. Thanks AOPA."
We welcome your photos. While we can't guarantee publication, we encourage you to e-mail photos to [email protected] or call 800/USA-AOPA (800/872-2672). For more information or to nominate someone for AOPA Project Pilot, please go to the Web site.
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