I had read about the concept of Aero Pro-Bono wherein Certificated Flying Instructors (CFI) are encouraged to offer free flights and learning opportunities to students, to make the rites of passage easier on the purse, when this can be done at little or no (additional) cost to the CFI. I am not sure, however, that such generosity and consideration is documented or acknowledged when it does happen. So, when it happened to me, I thought it would be nice to let the world know that it does!
As a PPL or Private Pilot License student at West Valley Flying Club at Palo Alto, California (WVFC), I was browsing the WVFC members' bulletin board earlier this month and came across a posting by a club CFI that ran somewhat like this: "Free Flight for C-172 student. I am taking my plane to Lincoln, CA to discuss some overhaul work and have a free ride available for a C-172 student doing their cross-country work..." Even though I was only on the verge of beginning cross-country, I signed up at once, thinking that the CFI needed someone to fly right seat, do the radio etc, and that I might pick up some valuable cross-country pointers along the way.
Imagine my surprise when, after the pre-flight, he simply handed me the keys, and let me fly left seat both out and back! I had done my due diligence, had a flight plan, had alternates, knew my route and checkpoints enough to avoid Travis Air Force Base (AFB), was aware of the NOTAMS*, weather, and the TFR**over Beale AFB (in case I strayed that far). I still learned stuff: like how, although I had charted a route following the Sacramento river, remaining close to airports along the way, it had never occurred to me to use the several bridges as checkpoints! (my first cross-country though...). I even learned a neat trick about tuning in a second VOR*** on the fly with a 90 degree offset on the FROM radial to the VOR I was headed to while passing the second VOR at right angles so as to quickly cross check our position. I also picked up a useful pointer about calculating when to start our descent, based on how high and how far we were from the destination airport. Long story short, it was a very instructional flight for me, and I got my first cross-country entry of 2.7 hours in my log-book! My regular CFI would doubtless have covered all this with me later in my training, but this lesson was completely free!
The CFI who so generously made this contribution to General Aviation through this act of Aero Pro-Bono is Steve Blonstein of West Valley Flying Club, and I have now emailed a letter to Flight Forum at AOPA**** Flight Training magazine to enable me to acknowledge his gesture. Thanks, Steve!
As a PPL or Private Pilot License student at West Valley Flying Club at Palo Alto, California (WVFC), I was browsing the WVFC members' bulletin board earlier this month and came across a posting by a club CFI that ran somewhat like this: "Free Flight for C-172 student. I am taking my plane to Lincoln, CA to discuss some overhaul work and have a free ride available for a C-172 student doing their cross-country work..." Even though I was only on the verge of beginning cross-country, I signed up at once, thinking that the CFI needed someone to fly right seat, do the radio etc, and that I might pick up some valuable cross-country pointers along the way.
Imagine my surprise when, after the pre-flight, he simply handed me the keys, and let me fly left seat both out and back! I had done my due diligence, had a flight plan, had alternates, knew my route and checkpoints enough to avoid Travis Air Force Base (AFB), was aware of the NOTAMS*, weather, and the TFR**over Beale AFB (in case I strayed that far). I still learned stuff: like how, although I had charted a route following the Sacramento river, remaining close to airports along the way, it had never occurred to me to use the several bridges as checkpoints! (my first cross-country though...). I even learned a neat trick about tuning in a second VOR*** on the fly with a 90 degree offset on the FROM radial to the VOR I was headed to while passing the second VOR at right angles so as to quickly cross check our position. I also picked up a useful pointer about calculating when to start our descent, based on how high and how far we were from the destination airport. Long story short, it was a very instructional flight for me, and I got my first cross-country entry of 2.7 hours in my log-book! My regular CFI would doubtless have covered all this with me later in my training, but this lesson was completely free!
The CFI who so generously made this contribution to General Aviation through this act of Aero Pro-Bono is Steve Blonstein of West Valley Flying Club, and I have now emailed a letter to Flight Forum at AOPA**** Flight Training magazine to enable me to acknowledge his gesture. Thanks, Steve!
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*Notice To AirMen
**Temporary Flight Restriction (This is serious stuff ever since TSA (Transportation Security of America) became the Lord of the Skies. You get escorted down by an F16 if you violate TFR airspace, and, yes, the F16 will shoot you down if you do not comply.)
*** VHF Omnidirectional Range ( a navigational radio beacon)
****Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association
*Notice To AirMen
**Temporary Flight Restriction (This is serious stuff ever since TSA (Transportation Security of America) became the Lord of the Skies. You get escorted down by an F16 if you violate TFR airspace, and, yes, the F16 will shoot you down if you do not comply.)
*** VHF Omnidirectional Range ( a navigational radio beacon)
****Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association
Picture: Left seat instrument panel of Steve's 1980 Cessna 172N. Tail #: N6251J
