Flying's The Easy Part; Telling The Family, Well...

by ANN Correspondent Annette Kurman

I have made the decision that I want to learn how to fly; I just have to share the news with my husband.

How did I come to this decision? I had the wonderful opportunity of attending the EAA's 2006 AirVenture as a stringer for Aero-News, and I can't say the bug bit me there... but it sure was the icing on the cake, the straw that broke the camel's back, and every other overused metaphor.

I work as the director of public relations at Daniel Webster College (DWC) in Nashua, NH. DWC started out 40 years ago as the New England Aeronautical institute (NEAI), training pilots through its flight program at Nashua Municipal Airport (KASH). It didn't take very long before NEAI merged with Daniel Webster Junior College and then received granting authority to offer four-year baccalaureate programs for professional pilots, as well as air traffic controllers and then aviation management professionals.

Currently, Daniel Webster College's flight training program is approved under the guidelines of federal Aviation Regulation Parts 141 and 61, and all instructors are Certified Flight Instructors. DWC's air traffic management major is one of only 13 academic programs recognized by the FAA as part of its Collegiate Training Initiative.

The College's nationally ranked degree programs in aviation are well complemented by its innovative programs in business and management, computer science and information technology, engineering (including have one of only three aeronautical engineering programs in the area -- BU and MIT are the others), sport management, and social and behavioral sciences.

Daniel Webster also recently introduced an all online MBA specifically for aviation professionals. (Yes, you aviation folks, you can get your MBA wearing your bunny slippers -- see http://aviation.dwc.edu for more information. Sorry, that's the PR person in me)

Finally, Daniel Webster has held an Aviation Heritage Festival of some notoriety for some time. From the WWII bombers to the latest military F-16s, the line up of planes and speakers was quite impressive, and people came from far and wide to attend the weekend event.

Which brings me back to me. As an experienced public relations professional armed with a degree in journalism, and a recently-obtained MBA in applied management, I knew absolutely nothing about aviation when hired for the public relations director job here at DWC three years ago. Let's face it. It's a niche market in the public relations industry.

However, after soaking up all the aviation-ese that I could during our Aviation Heritage Festivals and various aviation programs held throughout the year, I wanted to learn more. So I audited the first aviation course that DWC freshmen take, AF-128, Fundamentals of Flight (I had always wondered how those planes stayed up in the air). So there I was, the "mother" among all the 18-year old flight students in the class, reading the book, turning in homework, failing tests.

Because I worked full-time and had a family and was starting my MBA (excuses, excuses), I was auditing the course and did not take the flight practicum. Unfortunately, because of work activities and commitments, I did not stay with the class for the entire semester, but I certainly got a good feel for it. And that feeling was that learning to fly — even in the most basic of courses — was HARD! I, along with many of my classmates (young enough to be my children, sigh), worked hard and long to learn and integrate the basics of aviation. I was sad not to be able to complete the course, but really enjoyed learning about the basics of flying, even with my two feet planted firmly on the ground. Looking back, it certainly makes sense that learning about aviation —- for individuals wanting to fly corporate, for the majors, the regionals, or for anyone else —should be challenging! You don't any old Tom, Dick or Harry as PIC, for goodness sake!

My first in-the-sky experience I had (in addition been a passenger in the WWII planes at our Aviation Heritage Festivals), was when the Cirrus salesman was at our aviation center taking a couple of our folks out for a test drive of the new Cirrus SR22. I got to ride in the back. Then after we had flown to Fitchburg, MA, the rep asked me if I wanted to fly. Who, me? Well, okay. I took off from Fitchburg, flew around the airport and then landed, twice (the first landing didn't work out so well, so it ended up being an unplanned touch-and-go) It was, to say the least, fun and exhilarating!

It was the 2006 Oshkosh AirVenture that tipped me over the edge. Sport piloting really caught my interest because of the fewer hours of flight training involved and the driver's license option. I've done some initial investigation as to who is trained to instruct sport pilots (very few, I've found) and the programs they offer. Now I just have to break the news to my husband.. stay tuned!

P.S. Since I first wrote this story, I did tell my husband, who was very nonchalant about it. "Do what you have to do," he said. And my college-age children? "Hey, that's cool!" And my 10-year-old Rat Terrier? "When can I go up with you?"

So we're all on board, ground school just started and I take my first flight on Saturday. Could life get any better than this?!

(Annette will be bringing us regular updates on her progress towards attaining her sport pilot license.)

FMI: www.sportpilot.org