'I was jumping up and down'
Name: Vanessa Schmitt
Age: 18
Event: Private pilot checkride
Where: Delaware County Regional Airport (MIE), Muncie, Indiana
Airplane: Cessna 172
Vanessa Schmitt, right, with CFI Cliff Allen.
I took my checkride on May 1 at Muncie, Indiana. When I first went up to Muncie I was very nervous, but after sitting in the room for about 30 minutes with the examiner asking me questions, he thought that I was a competent and safe pilot and that I knew my aircraft very well. I was very excited.
We went up; I found my first checkpoint “on our way” to Louisville, Kentucky. We did a couple of air maneuvers and I’m just smiling through the entire checkride. He asked me to do the three types of landings and afterward he said, “Pull up to the ramp and we’ll come inside and do your paperwork.”
I was very thrilled to have learned that I had become a pilot. In fact I called my dad and told all of my friends soon after we got the paperwork done, and I was jumping up and down.
Carrying on the legacy
Flying for the challenge of a new skill
Name: Joe Winnell
Age: 42
Event: Private pilot checkride
Where: Georgetown Municipal Airport (GTU), Georgetown, Texas
Airplane: Cessna 172
Both of my grandfathers flew; one flew as a hobby and the other was a gunner in World War II. I wanted to learn to fly for the challenge of learning a new skill. I plan to continue toward my instrument rating and then the commercial certificate.
The medical certification specialists at AOPA were a huge help. Thank you all at AOPA for all that you do.
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