Eagle Crest pilot group holds Learn to Fly Week event
John Chirtea wouldn’t let a little rain ruin a chance to give future pilots a flying start.
Chirtea hosted an event May 17 for the Experimental Aircraft Association’s Learn to Fly Week at his hangar at the Eagle Crest Aerodrome in Milton.
“This is an opportunity to get new, potential pilots in the air,” Chirtea said. “They might say, ‘I’m inspired; I’m going to do that. I’m going to be a pilot.’”
Chirtea, 87, is vice president of EAA Chapter 1683, which is made up of local pilots. The chapter was formed in Chirtea’s hangar before they started meeting in Georgetown.
The goal of local chapters is “bringing together individuals interested in learning more about aviation as well as sharing their own knowledge,” according to the EAA website.
That is exactly what Chirtea and the other members of Chapter 1683 wanted to do.
“I learned to fly 70 years ago. I didn’t have a radio in my airplane. Today, I probably couldn’t pass the FAA test,” he said.
Chirtea just flies for fun around the area. He owns two classic, single-engine planes and an electric flying car called a Black Fly.
He said his 1947 Aeronca Champ is the best trainer because it is a taildragger, meaning it steers with a tail wheel. Chirtea said that forces pilots learn basic rudder-control skills.
Twelve young people signed up during the event. For most, it was their first time in a small plane.
“I’m hoping to be a mechanic, but flying for pleasure might be something fun to do,” said Greg Oberholzer, who is in the aviation maintenance program at Delaware Technical Community College.
Robert Reynolds and John Pullium both serve in the Air Force at Dover Air Force Base. They do heavy maintenance on the large C-17 and C-5 cargo planes based there. But they wanted a chance to downsize.
“It’s my first time flying in one of these. I just want to sponge it all in,” Pullium said.
Chirtea said he urges all potential pilots to do just that, experience everything, because aviation is a big industry.
He said he hopes to make the Learn to Fly Week fly-in an annual event.
Bill Shull has been covering Lewes for the Cape Gazette since 2023. He comes to the world of print journalism after 40 years in TV news. Bill has worked in his hometown of Philadelphia, as well as Atlanta and Washington, D.C. He came to Lewes in 2014 to help launch WRDE-TV. Bill served as WRDE’s news director for more than eight years, working in Lewes and Milton. He is a 1986 graduate of Penn State University. Bill is an avid aviation and wildlife photographer, and a big Penn State football, Eagles, Phillies and PGA Tour golf fan. Bill, his wife Jill and their rescue cat, Lucky, live in Rehoboth Beach.
