Honoring a flight instructor
We have unsung heroes in general aviation today--they're our flight instructors. Many of them are young people on a career-pilot track, building flight time so they can land an airline job. Others have committed themselves to careers as flight instructors, and some of them have become almost legendary. Many have truly "made a difference" in aviation.
I've been privileged to know a number of exceptional flight instructors. I'm thinking of people like Rod Machado, a longtime aviation educator, author, and AOPA Flight Training columnist (see "Since You Asked," p. 44). Folks like Evelyn Bryan Johnson, who logged most of her 57,000-plus flight hours as a flight instructor and designated pilot examiner in Morristown, Tennessee--now a spry 98, she flew regularly until she was injured in an automobile accident a couple of years ago (see "Training Notes and News," p. 16). And teachers like the late William K. "Bill" Kershner, author of several flight manuals and a passionate instructor best know for his fascination with spins; sadly, the aviation community lost Bill to cancer in early 2007.
| Hal Shevers (center) is inducted into EAA's Flight Instructor Hall of Fame. |
Another is Hal Shevers, founder and chairman of Sporty's Pilot Shop. I'd wager that every student pilot has heard of Sporty's, the company he launched in 1961, selling transistorized aviation-band radio receivers from the trunk of his car. Since then he's run the business with his wife, Sandy. Moving to Clermont County Airport in Batavia, Ohio, just east of Cincinnati, allowed them to add a flight school, fixed-base operation, an aircraft dealership, and even a residential airpark.
Shevers earned his private pilot certificate while he was a college student studying engineering at Purdue University; his first solo flight was October 30, 1957, in a Piper J-3 Cub. He's been an instrument flight instructor since 1961 and has logged more than 12,000 flight hours. While he was laying the groundwork for Sporty's, he also partnered with Joe Vorbeck, then chairman of general aviation technology at Purdue, to build a better aviation ground school course. This led to a three-day course to prepare pilots for what's called the knowledge test today; before computers were widespread this was known as the written test and was taken with pencil and paper.
Since then the pilot shop has evolved into an educational institution. Sporty's Academy is a Part 141 flight school that also provides flight instruction for the University of Cincinnati's professional pilot program. The company has produced dozens of educational DVDs, ranging from single disks covering specific topics to complete ground-school courses.
As a flight instructor, Shevers has influenced countless student pilots--hundreds that he's taught directly, both on the ground and in the air; thousands who have learned to fly at Sporty's Academy; and tens of thousands--probably hundreds of thousands--who have used Sporty's courseware in their aviation education. In recognition of his contributions to aviation education, Shevers was inducted into the Experimental Aircraft Association's Flight Instructors Hall of Fame in a November ceremony.
What may not be as well known is the Shevers' aviation philanthropy over the years. Hal Shevers has been a member of the AOPA Air Safety Foundation's Board of Visitors since 1990 and is a member of the AOPA President's Council. He has been a longtime supporter of the Aviation Exploring program, and has helped to fund many EAA programs and facilities that serve young people. In March 2007 he launched the Sporty's Foundation to help educate young people about general aviation; one of its first fundraising projects was auctioning a Cessna Citation Mustang light jet.
Shevers, and other committed educators like him, can serve as an example for all of us--whether we're flight instructors or not.
E-mail Mike Collins, editor of AOPA Flight Training, at [email protected].
