Flight Training - July 2014 - 19

AROUND THE PATCH

By Jill W. Tallman

FIND YOUR AVIATION FAMILY

THERE'S A PLACE FOR YOU IN OUR COMMUNITY

as your father a pilot? Your mother? Your grandfather,
or perhaps your uncle? If so, congratulations. You probably inherited your lifelong fascination with aviation from
them. If you grew up in a flying family, you were among
your own kind-people who understand just how special it is to be able
to pilot an airplane, and likely encouraged you.
Were you the first of your family to
learn to fly? So was I. We've had somewhat of a different experience. Likely no
one celebrated when we headed to the
flight school, let alone when we soloed.
Stop me if you've heard this one: "Why in
the world would you want to do that?"
I was fortunate-still am, actually-
because I learned to fly while working
here at AOPA. Smart and helpful pilots
were a few steps away whenever I had a
question. Julie Boatman Filucci, a CFI,
was a particularly patient ear. When I
told her that the airplane's unexpected
movements in any sort of wind were
nerve-wracking, she suggested that I
think of the airplane like a boat in water.
A boat moves in response to how water
pushes it around; an airplane behaves in a
similar fashion.
This casual, not-on-the-clock chitchat
can really help a student pilot. There are
times when you'd love to hang out and

talk about aircraft performance, weather,
or how a low-wing aircraft lands differently than a high wing. Some flight
schools make a great effort to encourage
socializing amongst their clients, to foster
this type of community. The Experimental
Aircraft Association has local chapters at
thousands of airports (www.eaa.org). The
International Organization of Women
Pilots (www.ninety-nines.org) and
Women in Aviation (www.wai.org) also
boast many chapters around the United
States (and the world, for that matter).
But it can be tough to connect with
other pilots when your routine is to head
to the airport, walk into the FBO, check
out an airplane, fly for an hour or so, and
then head back home.
Fortunately, we have the Internet. It's
no substitute for real, face-to-face interactions with other pilots, but it can connect
you with people who share your aviation
obsession. Here's a very short list:

Studentpilot.com. Run by the folks at
PilotMall.com, Studentpilot.com's forums
cover the gamut of aviation topics (including soaring, tailwheel flying, and sport
pilot issues).
AOPA forums (https://forums.aopa.
org). Your own association hosts these
moderated forums. Left Seat/Right Seat
focuses on instructional questions and
answers, but there are specific forums for
medical topics, the popular Never Again,
flying clubs, instrument pilots, and simulated flying and flight simulators.
King Schools recently added a discussion board to its website (http://answers.
kingschools.com/). Topics are organized
by training goals. Since this is a new
board, there's not a lot of content yet, but
all the more reason to go there and post
your question.
Beyond the student pilot spectrum,
there are groups to cover every aspect of
aviation that interests you. Homebuilt?
Oh yes, just head over to the EAA forums
(www.eaaforums.org). Aircraft type clubs?
Sure-too many to name here, but if you
type it into a search engine, chances are
there's a forum or a group out there.
Years ago I did some tailwheel flying
for a Flight Training article, and taildraggers have since become some of my
favorite aircraft. I discovered Ladies Love
Taildraggers (www.ladieslovetaildraggers.
com), created by Judy Birchler of Indianapolis. Judy flies a Rans (before that she
owned an Aeronca she called "The Happy
Champ"). LTT includes some of the nicest
people I've ever met in aviation, which is
saying something. I've attended a fly-in
and thoroughly enjoyed every minute I've
spent with the group.
Even if you're the only pilot in your
entire town, your aviation community is
out there, waiting to welcome you. Keep
looking, and you will find it.
Email Technical Editor Jill Tallman at jill.tallman@
aopa.org; Twitter: jtallman1959.

JULY 2014 FLIGHT TRAINING

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http://www.Studentpilot.com http://www.PilotMall.com https://forums.aopa.org https://forums.aopa.org http://answers.kingschools.com/ http://answers.kingschools.com/ http://www.eaaforums.org http://www.eaa.org http://www.ladieslovetaildraggers.com http://www.ladieslovetaildraggers.com http://www.ninety-nines.org http://www.wai.org

Flight Training - July 2014

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