Published: June 24, 2009 01:52 pm      

Flying lessons mean a lot to some

By Cristin Ross

cross@jacksonvilleprogress.com

“OK. I’m letting go — it’s all you now,” said John Sealey, aviation instructor with Hangar 22 Aviation Training at the Cherokee County Airport.

And with that, this fearless reporter was piloting a 180-horsepower, single-engine four-seater, Cherokee airplane through the skies above Jacksonville all by herself. Sealey executed the take-off and landing and Rusk resident Matthew Ross (my not-so-trusting husband) was along for the ride.

“It’s a little nerve-wracking at first (to pilot), but not as tough as you’d think,” said Ross, who got his crack at the wheel later the same day.

Since opening his aviation school at the county airport in November, Sealey said he averages about five students a class.

One of his current students, Rusk High School junior Paytn Woody, is getting his ground school training and student flight hours out of the way now so when he turns 17 in January, he can get his pilot’s license. His father, Jack, who took Sealey’s classes with his youngest son, is about six hours from getting his license.

“My dad always said he wanted to fly, but he just never got around to it,” Woody said. “He finally made up his mind, and when he asked my if I wanted to, too, I said ‘heck yeah!’”

Woody said one of the reasons he and his dad decided to take the classes now was because they were offered so close to home.

“We’re like 10 minutes away from the airport, so it’s nothing to come over here, instead of going to Tyler or Gladewater or somewhere,” Woody said.

Woody intends to become a career pilot — flying smaller planes, rather than commercial airline craft.

“I just like the smaller ones better,” he said with a laugh.

Another of Sealey’s students, Kyle Johnson of Indiana, commutes to and from his home base in Indiana and job sites in Texas via his plane.

“It was such a hassle dealing with commercial airlines all the time,” Johnson said. “I just decided to get my license and my own plane, and I haven’t looked back.”

Sealey’s classes, while tricky according to Woody, aren’t as hard as algebra.

“It’s a lot of common sense,” Woody said. “The ground school was harder than I expected, but the flying isn’t hard at all.”

According to Hangar 22’s Web site, during ground school students learn about aviation operations such as regulations, weather and aerodynamics.

“Once your flight and ground training are complete and you have passed the FAA written exam you will take a check ride with a designated FAA examiner where you will receive the final testing for your license, sort of like a driving test in a car,” the site states.

Both Woodys took their first solo flights May 1.

“It was the best experience,” Paytn Woody said. “There’s really nothing that even comes close to comparing.”

Sealey said ground classes are offered every month, three nights a week. Classes are usually about two hours long — including a 15-minute preflight briefing — depending on the procedures or maneuvers covered. The entire course takes three to six months to complete, depending on when students are available for classes. Cost is $45 an hour and the average student can get all the instruction they need to become licensed for a total $4,500.

“We have an 80 percent success rate,” Sealey said of his school. “And a lot of students come back to try again, if they don’t make it the first time — usually the same day.

“And when a student completes their course successfully, you can just see how proud they are and that’s the absolute best part of being an instructor.”

Visit www.h22aviation.com or call 903-283-0388 to register for classes.