Was your father a pilot? Your mother? Your grandfather, or perhaps your uncle? If so, congratulations. You probably inherited your lifelong fascination with aviation from them. If you grew up in a flying family, you were among your own kind—people who understand just how special it is to be able to pilot an airplane, and likely encouraged you.
Were you the first of your family to learn to fly? So was I. We’ve had somewhat of a different experience. Likely no one celebrated when we headed to the flight school, let alone when we soloed. Stop me if you’ve heard this one: “Why in the world would you want to do that?”
I was fortunate—still am, actually—because I learned to fly while working here at AOPA. Smart and helpful pilots were a few steps away whenever I had a question. Julie Boatman Filucci, a CFI, was a particularly patient ear. When I told her that the airplane’s unexpected movements in any sort of wind were nerve-wracking, she suggested that I think of the airplane like a boat in water. A boat moves in response to how water pushes it around; an airplane behaves in a similar fashion.
This casual, not-on-the-clock chitchat can really help a student pilot. There are times when you’d love to hang out and talk about aircraft performance, weather, or how a low-wing aircraft lands differently than a high wing. Some flight schools make a great effort to encourage socializing amongst their clients, to foster this type of community. The Experimental Aircraft Association has local chapters at thousands of airports (www.eaa.org). The International Organization of Women Pilots (www.ninety-nines.org) and Women in Aviation (www.wai.org) also boast many chapters around the United States (and the world, for that matter).
But it can be tough to connect with other pilots when your routine is to head to the airport, walk into the FBO, check out an airplane, fly for an hour or so, and then head back home.
Fortunately, we have the Internet. It’s no substitute for real, face-to-face interactions with other pilots, but it can connect you with people who share your aviation obsession. Here’s a very short list:
Studentpilot.com. Run by the folks at PilotMall.com, Studentpilot.com’s forums cover the gamut of aviation topics (including soaring, tailwheel flying, and sport pilot issues).
AOPA forums (https://forums.aopa.org). Your own association hosts these moderated forums. Left Seat/Right Seat focuses on instructional questions and answers, but there are specific forums for medical topics, the popular Never Again, flying clubs, instrument pilots, and simulated flying and flight simulators.
King Schools recently added a discussion board to its website (http://answers.kingschools.com/). Topics are organized by training goals. Since this is a new board, there’s not a lot of content yet, but all the more reason to go there and post your question.
Beyond the student pilot spectrum, there are groups to cover every aspect of aviation that interests you. Homebuilt? Oh yes, just head over to the EAA forums (www.eaaforums.org). Aircraft type clubs? Sure—too many to name here, but if you type it into a search engine, chances are there’s a forum or a group out there.
Years ago I did some tailwheel flying for a Flight Training article, and taildraggers have since become some of my favorite aircraft. I discovered Ladies Love Taildraggers (www.ladieslovetaildraggers.com), created by Judy Birchler of Indianapolis. Judy flies a Rans (before that she owned an Aeronca she called “The Happy Champ”). LTT includes some of the nicest people I’ve ever met in aviation, which is saying something. I’ve attended a fly-in and thoroughly enjoyed every minute I’ve spent with the group.
Even if you’re the only pilot in your entire town, your aviation community is out there, waiting to welcome you. Keep looking, and you will find it.
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