Student pilot pays small price for big dream
By Kate Opalewski
Some of us would do anything to help cover the cost of flight training. AOPA Project Pilot student Kayla Cassel, 16, of Longview, Texas, spent five weeks in August away from home mowing lawns and doing other odd jobs to earn flight hours.
While visiting her cousin and Project Pilot mentor Sean Reilly in Lakeland, Fla., Cassel worked hard in exchange for the use of her cousin's Cessna 172. To help her get started, local flight instructor Dave Zeller also donated more than 20 hours so that Cassel could begin learning to fly.
Back at home now, she is eager to find an instructor she can afford. Cassel said she won't give up because "I enjoyed flying so much."
Join AOPA Project Pilot to find a potential mentor to help guide you throughout your flight training experience.
September 28, 2007
