AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2011 - 40

PILOT BRIEFING
High school senior can fly, not drive
High school senior Joe Lempa, 17, can fly an airplane above the Chicago area as a private pilot, but he hasn’t had time to get that driver’s license yet. “I’m going to have to take a weekend and get that done,” he said. Lempa was chosen by A and M Aviation at Clow International Airport in Bolinbrook, Illinois, to receive an all-expense-paid private pilot course. Since his dad is an airline pilot and his mother works, it fell to his grandfather to drive him to the lessons, wait, and drive him home. In eight to 10 weeks last summer he was a private pilot. He wrote the winning essay in the contest and had the grades to prove he could quickly complete the course. A and M co-owner Jolan Harvilchuck said she and her husband wanted to give something back to aviation. “It was a way for us to promote general aviation and our airport,” said Harvilchuck. “He was on the schedule five or six days a week—we spent time on the ground grooming him using the Cessna kit.” Was it a grind? “It was like a very, very cool school class,” Lempa said. “Every 17-year-old should have the chance for this experience.” He and instructor Ross Healey flew five days a week and sometimes more. “My father is very proud of me,” Lempa said. “I got it faster than he did, and got a higher score on my written than he did. My dad can’t wait to fly with me. Some of my friends are saying ‘Take us up!’ I am going to wait on that.” He said his friends are surprised and impressed. A and M owners are so pleased with the result they are considering offering a similar contest every year. Now that he is a pilot, Lempa may consider aviation as a career. He is interested in aeronautical engineering at present, but might also explore a career as a pilot for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. NOAA has approximately 50 pilots, all of whom are officers with the NOAA Corps—one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. NOAA aviators fly the agency’s specialized aircraft, including the WP-3D Orion and Gulfstream IV hurricane hunters and a variety of twin-engine aircraft used for gathering environmental and geographic data. Missions include aiding in winter storm forecasts, assessing post-storm damage, studying marine mammal populations, and investigating oil spills. TEST PILOT ANSWERS from page 36
1. Both airplanes must have the same turn rate, and the one on the outside must have a greater airspeed (to fly the larger circle). The outside airplane, therefore, requires a greater bank angle and must be experiencing the greater G load. 2. They indicate the presence of arresting gear. This might prevent an overrun but would be hard on the propeller. 3. False. Ryan built a second NYP that was sold to Japan and flown on a number of publicity tours. No one knows what eventually happened to the airplane. 4. When Richard M. Nixon left office in 1974, his resignation became effective after departing Andrews Air Force Base on Air Force One. Gerald Ford was sworn into office while the aircraft was en route to California. At this moment, Nixon’s flight lost its
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presidential designation and assumed a military flight number. 5. c. The oldest carrier to serve in the war was the USS Langley (CV 1), which was commissioned in 1922. The last carrier to serve in the war, the USS Lake Champlain (CV 39), was commissioned on June 3, 1945. 6. a. The turn coordinator and the slip/skid ball do not provide reliable recovery guidance during an inverted spin. 7. The accident claimed the lives of legendary rock-and-roll pioneers Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. “the Big Bopper” Richardson (as well as the 21-year-old pilot, Roger Peterson). 8. St. Elmo is the patron saint of sailors, who observed this phenomenon as static electricity dancing on the masts of ancient sailing vessels. Reducing airspeed usually reduces the intensity of St. Elmo’s fire.

40 • DECEMBER 2011

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AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2011

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