You Can Fly - 2022 Edition - 4

WELCOME TO OUR WORLD
OPPORTUNITY
OF A LIFETIME
Learning to fly will change you
BY CAYLA MCLEOD, AOPA DIGITAL MEDIA ASSISTANT EDITOR
mechanics, and fellow students with similar aviation
aspirations. I was no longer hanging out with my
high school friends and playing sports after class
each day, but instead leaving campus as soon as the
bell rang so I could get to the airport.
Six and a half years later, I look back on my disW
hen
I was a freshman and sophomore in high school, I
wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to be when I grew up.
I had spent my elementary and middle school years fantasizing
about becoming a doctor, nurse, or maybe even a veterinarian. But
after realizing that I wasn't a big fan of science, math, or having to
put animals to sleep, I was constantly wondering what the future
had in store for me.
It wasn't until my family moved across town to the approach
end of our local airport when I was 16 that my interest in aviation
came about. After a year of living directly underneath the traffic
pattern-and listening to everything from what I now know to be
T-6 Texans to Cessna 150s-I told my parents that I might like to
pursue a career as a professional pilot. That same weekend I went
up for my first general aviation flight in a Cessna 172 at the Peach
State Aerodrome in Williamson, Georgia.
I remember the flight just like it was yesterday. Shortly after
takeoff, the flight instructor gave me control of the aircraft, and suddenly,
I was flying an airplane. It was one of the most awe-inspiring
moments of my life. After spending only 15 minutes in that Cessna, I
quickly realized the course of my life had just been decided for me.
Soon after my discovery flight, I joined a youth aviation program
where I became part of an extended family of pilots, A&P
4 FLIGHT TRAINING YOU CAN FLY 2022
covery flight as the best thing that could have ever
happened to me. I have developed lifelong friends;
seen the country from warbirds, slow taildraggers,
and even private jets; and I have a career that I could
have only ever dreamed of-all thanks to general
aviation. I might not have pursued the professional
pilot path that initially captivated my interest in
learning how to fly, but with mentorship, networking,
and years of exposure to our industry, I was
rewarded with an aviation journalism career that
plays to my creative strengths and combines my
talents, passions, and hobbies.
Whether you're thinking about flying for fun or
becoming a professional pilot, I hope my story serves
as your final ounce of motivation to begin or complete
flight training. On the other side of the long
nights spent studying for written exams and checkrides
are incredible relationships, experiences, and
memories. General aviation is far more than a world
filled with pilots, airports, and small airplanes-
within it is the opportunity of a lifetime.
cayla.mcleod@aopa.org
You Can Fly - 2022 Edition

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