The Orange County Flight Center at John Wayne Airport is just one of 28 such schools within 25 miles of the Daily Pilot’s Costa Mesa headquarters.
“The goal of ProjectPilot.org is to find those people who always had interest in learning to fly, but didn’t know how to get started and to give them the resources they need to get out and take an introductory flight,” said Chris Dancy, a spokesman for the pilot organization.
I have to admit, I never dreamed of a career in aviation, or even flying as a hobby, but I am always ready to try something new.
That’s not to say I wasn’t scared out of my wits as I pulled up to the Aero Aviation Flight School at Long Beach Airport. My flight instructor, James Choo, was quick to calm my nerves, assuring me I would live to tell about the experience.
James gave me a five-minute, pre-flight briefing on flying, demonstrating the basic maneuvers — climbing, turning, cruising and descending — with a tiny toy airplane.
“Your job is to keep your eyes on the horizon and keep your wings level at all times,” he said.
It sounded easy enough and before I knew it, I was buckled in the pilot’s seat with my headset adjusted and my clammy hands tightened firmly around the yoke, or the control wheel. I was having flashbacks of driver’s ed, except this time around, having the instructor there made me less nervous.
“Does this fire the missiles?” I asked James, gesturing to the red button under my thumb, which, as it turns out, does nothing more than control the microphone.
I couldn’t help but utter my prior mantra as the propeller sputtered into action and we accelerated down the runway approaching 100 mph, though I’m sure I’ve driven that fast in a car (please don’t tell my mom).
