What's Oshkosh?
By Rob Finfrock
Rick Roberson was thrilled to earn a trip to Oshkosh for being
the BE A PILOT program's 250,000th pilot prospect… once he
learned how important that was.
"I called him and said 'you've been selected as the
quarter-millionth, and we're going to take you all-expenses paid to
Oshkosh,'" said BE A PILOT president Drew Steketee. "And he said
back to me, 'What's Oshkosh?'"
He found out soon enough. Roberson, a 50 year-old dairy farmer
from Locke, New York who took his first lesson three months ago,
plans to complete his training in six months and purchase an
airplane within a year. "I'm very excited about this flying
business," said Roberson. "I really love flying."
BE A PILOT, a national educational program to help the public
become more familiar with the world of general aviation, also
announced the first-ever private donor in the program's eight-year
history. He is Greg Sutliff, owner of a group of nine central
Pennsylvania auto dealerships. Sutliff, who learned to fly in 1950
in a Piper Cub and now flies a TBM-700 turboprop, said that he had
been trying to find a way to help general aviation grow for a long
time.
"Aviation has had a big impact on my life; it's a license to
adventure," said Sutliff. "When BE A PILOT came to my attention, I
thought this was just the ticket. I'm delighted to help."
With famed air show pilot and spokesperson Patty Wagstaff in
attendance, BE A PILOT also announced the creation of the "Friend
of BE A PILOT" program that allows donors to contribute to the
program online using a credit card.
"I'm thrilled to be a part of BE A PILOT, and I'm happy to help
in any way I can," said Wagstaff. "Anybody in aviation, we're sort
of religious about how we want to get other people in aviation,
because we know how good it's been to us."
Jeppesen was also honored at the event, receiving a Legacy
Sponsor Award for being a high-level, long-term sponsor of the
program.
"Since the start of the program, Jeppesen has been a major
source of funding and support," said Drew Steketee.
Jeppesen senior vice-president and general manager Kevin Collins
accepted the award, saying "It's very easy for us to be a sponsor
[of BE A PILOT] because there are 156,000 people that work with
Jeppesen and the Boeing company that are very, very interested in
aviation."
"With Elrey Jeppesen already being one of the early pioneers and
historians of aviation, this was an easy decision."