LAKEPORT ? Six Lake County teens each got a chance to fly a small airplane Saturday, most for the first time.
Solo Flight School hosted a daylong flight training course, which included ground school training for the first half of the day. Each participant had a turn in the cockpit after lunch.
Participants learned about aerodynamics, the inside and outside of an aircraft and the meanings of the runway markings and then had half an hour in the air to test the new skills.
“It was an opportunity that came up, and I decided to go for it even though I was absolutely terrified, but I had a lot of fun in the end,” Kelseyville resident Veronica Buehnerkemper, 14, said.
Buehnerkemper was one of six teens from around Lake County who participated in the event. Like many of the other participants, she”s keeping her career options wide open. While the future may not involve aviation for each participant, the experience was no less rewarding.
“It was a blast. He had me turn left and right a couple times, and we found my house, did some anti-gravity stuff. We put a pin in my hand, and then he went up and shot down real fast and the pin goes floating,” Kelseyville resident Mason McGee, 17, said.
McGee said he was considering taking lessons because of the experience.
For Upper Lake resident Joe Barnes, the daylong training was a first step in an aviation career path.
“I always wanted to be a pilot. I was thinking of joining the Air Force and then getting a degree in aeronautical engineering,” Barnes said.
Gary Trippeer and Nancy Brier, who own the flight school, said the reason they hosted the event was two-fold: they love Lake County, and economic downturn requires creativity to survive.
“We have a soft spot for the kids. It”s also marketing, because in these times you have to be creative about how you get people through the door,” Brier said.
Hosting a group event brought the price of a private tour down, according to Brier, and gave participants a chance to share the experience with peers.
The next daylong training course for teens is scheduled for May 28. Brier said the flight school also expects to host a similar event for adults. For more information, call Solo Flight School at 263-9920.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com, or call her directly at 263-5636, ext. 37.
