The air up there

Alicia Robinson

Stuffing an airplane into a Christmas stocking probably won’t work,

but people can still give the gift of flight this year with

certificates for flying lessons.

The Newport Flight Center is one of several flight schools at John

Wayne Airport participating in the Be A Pilot program, a national,

nonprofit program that offers certificates for introductory flying

lessons for $49 -- about half the typical cost of a lesson.

“It’s sort of an effective way to get people interested, to see

that it’s safe,” said Terri Repic, manager of Newport Flight Center.

“It was a very good idea.”

And once they take their first lesson, about 75% of them come back

for more, she said.

Learning to fly at John Wayne Airport means that pilots encounter

all types of air traffic, so they’re better prepared, Repic said.

“The benefit is, once you can fly out of this airport, you can fly

out of any airport,” she said.

Pilots must log about 40 to 45 hours of lessons in the air before

they can fly solo, flight instructor Sep Boutaleb said.

The Be A Pilot program, which began in 1997, has had great support

from the aviation community, program President Drew Steketee said.

To date, about 200,000 people have signed up for a flying lesson

through the program, he said.

The purpose of Be A Pilot is to reintroduce people to personal

flying, which began a decline during the recession in the early

1990s, Steketee said.

Flight schools suffered another drop in attendance after Sept. 11,

2001, but interest has rebounded.

“It kind of dramatized to folks that life is short; you might as

well make the most of it,” Steketee said.

After a recent advertising push by Be A Pilot, Repic said, she’s

been getting two to three calls a day about the program and has had

many requests for gift certificates for the holidays.

To get a certificate for a $49 flying lesson, call (888)

BE-A-PILOT or visit https://www.beapilot.com online.