Arizona pilot wins AOPA Air Safety Foundation transceiver prize
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| CFII George Nungessor and John Wait after John's solo on December 7, 1996. |
John M. Wait of Phoenix, Arizona, is the winner of a Sporty's handheld transceiver after attending an Air Safety Foundation seminar.
Wait attended the "More Never Again" seminar held in Mesa, Arizona, in February.
This Air Safety Foundation seminar discusses what went wrong during real life brushes with disaster. Pilots learn how to deal with weather challenges and how to improve their performance and decision making. They discuss IFR and VFR options and strategies, plus how IFR training can make VFR flying easier.
"I enjoy talking with other pilots at these meetings," said Wait. "I would rather learn from the mistakes covered in the presentations than make them myself. It's easier to figure out how to break a chain of events in an auditorium rather than in the left seat."
Wait has been interested in aviation all his life. Growing up with a father who was a security policeman in the U.S. Air Force, Wait was surrounded by airplane pictures, paper airplanes, and plastic models. As a Boy Scout, Wait received his first ride in a Cessna and got to take the controls for the first time.
An Iowa State University graduate with an aerospace engineering degree, Wait began flight training at Arizona's Chandler Municipal in October 1996. By March 1997, he had earned his private pilot certificate. Now with 147 hours in his logbook, Wait is currently flying an Aeronca Champ he rents every three weeks.
Information and schedules for all ASF safety seminars can be found in the "AOPA Action" section of AOPA Pilot magazine and on AOPA Online.
The AOPA Air Safety Foundation is the independent, nonprofit organization chartered in 1950 to improve general aviation safety.
The majority of ASF funding comes from individual pilots' tax-deductible donations.
00-2-031
May 16, 2000
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