Encourage, inspire, and mentor new pilots
Few pilots know this better than Erik Lindbergh, AOPA's Project Pilot spokesman and the grandson of Charles Lindbergh--who, among other things, was the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. Erik talked about this very subject recently at AOPA's seventeenth annual Fly-In and Open House. More than 5,000 people attended the very successful event June 2 at AOPA's headquarters located on the Frederick (Maryland) Municipal Airport.
How did learning to fly change Erik's life? Let him tell you.
When I was 21, I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, and I didn't know really what that meant--but it slowly eroded my quality of life. My life became mostly sitting. It was painful to walk. I had this buddy also named Eric who kept pestering me. 'Oh, I've got this video about flying--check it out! Blah, blah, blah.' He wouldn't stop talking about flying! And it bugged me. He got under my skin.
I finally gave in because he was pestering me so much, and I went out and took a demo flight. I think I was 24 years old. All of a sudden, I got it! I said, "This is cool!" And I scraped together enough money to get my private certificate. In the process I realized I could [physically] do what my flight instructor's doing and thought I might like that as a job. I got my certificates, and I was a flight instructor for about two years.
And then the rheumatoid arthritis really started getting worse and worse. I stopped flying for about six years. [Double knee replacement surgery and a new biotech drug] gave me a second chance at life. Getting another chance allowed me to push headlong into that Lindbergh legacy...and to go and walk in my grandfather's footsteps. I went into [my own trans-Atlantic solo flight] with a message about the future of flight. What is the future of flight? Where are we going?
We need you guys to tell the stories. We need you to be my friend Eric, who kept bugging me until I finally realized, "Whoa, this is cool!" I made it happen because I wanted it. We need to tell those stories, and encourage, inspire, and mentor the next generation of pilots.
All of us with pilot certificates had somebody, at some point in our training, who provided support or encouragement. Through Project Pilot, AOPA has the tools you need to mentor effectively. Think of someone you know who would like to learn to fly, and go to the Project Pilot Web site today to sign up as their Mentor.
Many of us talk about our own flying experiences with nonpilots. During these conversations, I have frequently discovered people with the time, resources, and interest, but often they just need encouragement and some information on taking the first step. Think about it for a moment. Today, security signs and fences often become a barrier to the average person who might be seeking information at a flight school. By being a Mentor, you make it easy for a prospective student to learn about flying.
It wasn't until my wife, Lois, decided to take flying lessons that I really learned the value of being a Mentor. During her training she had three different flight instructors, and wanted to quit on numerous occasions--the first time practicing stalls. I was there to help, not as a flight instructor, but as a friend and pilot who had been through the same emotional roller coaster. She earned her private pilot certificate in 1994, the year Project Pilot was launched.
Since then, Lois has gone on to mentor several other students. A number of them have gone on to earn higher certificates and ratings.
I have personally mentored more than two dozen students over the years. After a student I mentored recently earned his private pilot certificate, I provided him with advice on buying his first airplane. I had as much fun reliving my similar first-aircraft purchase experience as he had buying an airplane--and the best part about it was this time, it didn't cost me a cent.
You may have to bug your prospective new pilot a little, like Erik's friend Eric--but I can assure you from my own experiences as a Mentor that the rewards are well worth the effort. You get a tremendous sense of personal satisfaction when you help someone through the process of learning to fly. If you're a student who could use a Mentor, you can find one through the site as well.
"If you are a pilot, you have that passion," Lindbergh concluded at the AOPA Fly-In. "All you have to do is pass it on--it only takes a few minutes each week." I couldn't have said that better myself.
To learn more about AOPA Project Pilot or to enroll, see the Web site.
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