Preflight

Answer the call of the sky

Why did you decide to learn to fly? For some pilots, it's something they always wanted to do. For others it's about the utility-they covet the ability to go where they want, more or less when they want, and don't want their schedule to be set by the airlines. For many it's a mixture of the two, with a helping of adventure and a sprinkle of challenge thrown in.

I had developed an interest in helicopters while I was in high school-enough that I told a recruiter I might like to join the Army and learn to fly helicopters. He took one look at my thick eyeglasses, shook his head, and said no-quickly adding that I could, however, drive a tank (apparently the uncorrected vision requirements were much less stringent). "No tanks," I politely declined, walking away for a decade from the idea of flying. Years later, when I discovered general aviation, I found out that for civilian flying the FAA is only concerned about pilots' corrected eyesight, and I earned my private pilot certificate (in airplanes).

Since then, I've flown both for fun and utility.

Utility? In a training airplane that travels the skies at 110 or 120 knots? Sure. My favorite example is the trip I've taken from Frederick, Maryland, to visit relatives in the eastern suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio. By car, the 320-mile trip takes about five hours. Flying commercially takes at least four and one-half hours-I'd begin by driving an hour in the opposite direction to reach an airline airport, spend the obligatory hour cooling my heels, ride about 1.5 hours, then spend at least an hour (longer at rush hour) driving across the city to my suburban destination.

Hop in a GA airplane that is literally parked across the street from my office, however-even a humble trainer-and the 228-nm trip, depending on winds, usually takes between two and two and one-half hours. As a bonus I land at Cuyahoga County Airport, five minutes from my uncle's home.

Practical long-distance travel in your training airplane? You bet. Think about the tortoise and the hare. For many people who don't live near an airline hub airport, or who have to change planes en route to reach their destination, the airplane in which you're learning to fly can be a very practical traveling machine-especially on shorter trips. Move up to a high-performance airplane like a Cessna Corvalis, Cirrus SR20 or SR22, a Diamond DA40, or a Piper Matrix (see the cover), and you'll find that general aviation can provide competitive transportation over much longer distances.

Cleveland's not the only example. Light aircraft provide practical travel to visit family in Lexington, Kentucky, and Ashland, Ohio. It was our transportation to a wedding in Lebanon, New Hampshire. My logbooks are full of examples.

How do you want to use your pilot certificate after you've completed your training? If you've already earned your ticket, where are you flying? Share your experiences with an e-mail ([email protected]) and I'll share your most inspiring ideas in another column.

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Effective with this issue, Dave Wilkerson, author of our "Checkride" column for more than a decade, is stowing his pen in his flight bag-at least for now. We thank Dave for his contributions to the magazine over the years and, especially, for the wisdom he's shared with our readers as a veteran designated pilot examiner.

It's my pleasure to introduce Bob Schmelzer, who will take over the bimonthly slot (see "Checkride: Test-Day Jitters," page 38). Bob is a designated pilot examiner in the Chicago area, as well as a Boeing 777 captain and line check airman for United Airlines.

When Bob was about 10 years old, his Cub Scout pack toured Chicago O'Hare International Airport, and he got to look inside the cockpit of a Continental Airlines Boeing 707. "I'd never thought about airplanes before that," he said. "As soon as I saw that panel, I fell in love with it. I knew I wanted to be an airline pilot."

Bob worked at a grocery store while he was in high school to pay for his flight training, passing his private pilot checkride the day he turned 17. By the time he was a senior, he was 18 and a flight instructor; flight training and charter flying paid for college. "I was living and breathing aviation-and still do," he said. A designated pilot examiner since 2001, he's administered more than 500 checkrides.

Bob has an innate curiosity about all things aviation. In an e-mail he mentioned returning to O'Hare from China, only a few minutes late after a flight that lasted 13 hours and nine minutes. "Five minutes longer than scheduled, actually. Amazing how closely they can figure these things." Bob's passion for all things aviation makes him an asset to the magazine, and we're confident that you'll agree.

E-mail Mike Collins, editor of AOPA Flight Training, at [email protected].