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Since the Wright brothers first took flight in 1903, man has been obsessed with air travel. As airplanes have evolved, so have those in the cockpit. These days, the ability to learn how to fly an airplane is a mouse click away.
ProjectPilot.org is a new program launched by the nonprofit group Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, the world’s largest pilot association with around 411,000 members. The association offers resources to would-be pilots and lists flight schools where people can sign up to learn to fly. Its goal is to let people know that learning to fly is easier and more affordable than they may think.
The website offers short videos on the benefits of flying and also has a link where prospective aviators can find flight schools near them. Many schools offer low-cost introductory flights to allow customers to see if flying is for them.
One flight school that ProjectPilot directs people to is Delmarva Aviation, based out of Sussex County Airport in Georgetown. The school was founded and is run by Garrett Dernoga, a certified flight instructor. Dernoga started flying in 1994 and has been hooked ever since.
“For myself, it started out as just a fun hobby,” Dernoga said. “From the time I was a little kid I was always fascinated with planes. I just started out as a private pilot. I didn’t have any aspirations of becoming a business or anything. I just loved flying.”
The school has a fleet of Cessna training aircraft and is the only authorized Cessna Pilot Center in Delaware. Students can sign up to earn their private pilot’s license. Prospective pilots must not only perform flying lessons but also complete courses on the ground. Students seeking a private license must be at least 17, pass a basic medical exam, have a minimum of 40 hours total flight time and pass written and practical exams.
Although the minimum flying time is 40 hours, students often fly 50 to 70 hours before they are licensed.
Dernoga said the time it takes to get a license depends on the student. Those who fly more often are more likely to achieve their minimum flight hours faster. However, Delmarva Aviation allows customers to fix their training sessions to whatever is convenient for them.
In addition to flight training, Delmarva Aviation also offers aircraft rentals, aerial photography and sightseeing tours.
For more information visit www.ProjectPilot.org. For more information about Delmarva Avaition visit www.delmarva-aviation.com.
Reporter spreads his wings and learns to fly
So what’s it like to fly an airplane?
For me, it was a bit nerve-racking at first. When the flight was set up, I knew that Garrett Dernoga, a licensed instructor, was going to be handling the takeoff and landing. This took a load off my mind as visions of JFK Jr. and Lynyrd Skynyrd flashed through my head.
When photographer Ron MacArthur and I arrived at the Sussex County Airport, Garrett had already done the preflight equipment checks. The Cessna 172 that we flew was a lot narrower on the inside than it looked from the outside. Once inside, Garrett gave me the rundown on the gauges in front of me. Other than the altimeter, I really couldn’t tell you what many of them meant. There were so many gauges and meters and buttons that it amazes me that pilots know them all. One look at that panel in front of me and I broke out the expression I used to have in college when I got asked a really hard statistics question.
If all this wasn’t intimidating enough for a novice like me, then came learning how to taxi the plane. This was the hardest part of the lesson. While on the ground, the Cessna is maneuvered by two pedals on the floor and powered by the throttle lever between the two pilots. With the steering wheel in front of you, it looks like a car, but while on the ground, the steering wheel plays no part in controlling the plane. This was something that Garrett needed to remind me of more than once as I swerved all over the place like Billy Joel at 3 a.m.
Part of this was due to the fact that the brakes were above the maneuvering pedals, so to make the plane stop I had to step on the pedals simultaneously. To move the plane to the right I had to press the right pedal and the left one to move it in that direction. It took me a little while to get used to the proper foot movements. Either that or I am very uncoordinated.
Eventually, with a little help from Garrett, I got the plane to the runway. Garrett took over, powering up the throttle all the way and getting us smoothly off the ground. The throttle, by the way, is powered up by sliding a lever in and powered down by pulling it out. The double entendre was not lost on me.
Nothing brings out my “holy crap!” face quite like those first few seconds of takeoff. The ground starts to disappear beneath you and human life below is very small. Garrett got the plane up to 2,000 feet before letting me take over. This was the easy part. Once you are in the air and level off, flying is fairly simple. Besides turning the wheel left and right, you can also push the nose of the plane up or down. We were lucky to get good weather and little turbulence up in the air. I started around the Village of Five Points and took the Cessna along the coastline to the Indian River inlet. Our speed was about 120 mph.
You really do get an appreciation for how lovely this area is when you fly above it. The only real scary part, for me anyway, was when I turned the plane around over the ocean. As the sky blended into the ocean below, I lost track of my bearings and forgot where I was for a second. All I saw was blue and it wasn’t until I got the plane turned around that I relaxed because I saw Dewey Beach below. There were also some bumps in the air around this point, which are a little scary because of the quick jolt.
Once I got the plane turned around we headed back to the airport. Garrett instructed me to follow Route 9 back to Georgetown. After following Route 23 for a second, I got us on the right track. When I found the airport, Garrett took over again and got us on the ground safely.
Contact Ryan Mavity at ryanm@capegazette.com
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