'There's nothing like flying'

Story by Paul Stoltzfus

N«learly everyone hasdreamed of piloting a mammoth jetliner toexotic places Well, before a person can take that journey, he must take another journey — the licensing process

LBC students canbegin thejourney with a 16-hour aviation minor.The minor began nearly four years ago in the Natural Science and Math Division.Cinder theleadershipofGary Swofford,an AirVirginia pilot, the program now has eight male students taught by two instructors

According to one of these instructors, Kathy Sullivan, the students often must do some fancy maneuvering to work flight time intotheiralready busy schedules Sullivan said this becomes increasingly difficult when a student attempts to do it in one semester

Another challenge is weather Unlike indoor classes,a flight class iscanceled at the slightest hint of inclement weather

An interested student begins with basic classroom instruction. After learning the fundamentals of flying, the student takes tothe sky inquest of a private license The private license requires 35 hours offlight time The private pilot is limited to fair weather flying and cannot receive payfor his services.

An important step in obtaining theprivate license is compiling 10ofthe35 hours in solo cross-country flights. A student's firstsolo flight will never be forgotten, not only because oftheapprehension and satisfaction involved, butalso because of the tradition of shirttail cutting

After the student's first solo, his back shirttail and his tieare cut off and hung proudly in hisplace oftraining Theshirttail issigned by theyoung pilot andsignifies"being kicked outofthe nest,"according to freshman Roger Murphy.

Murphy, who plans to be a commercial airline pilot, recalls his first long distance solo flight with a sense of satisfaction.

"Itwassatisfying tojustknow I could do it by myself," Murphy said."When you get back totheairport,youjust sittherethinking, 'Yep, I did it.'

But even the first short solo around the airport can evoke apprehension Junior Mark Degler recalls, "I got permission from my teacher to miss my 7 o'clock class, so Iraced to the airport, flew two lapsanddidtwolandingsasfastasI could, then raced back to school Ididn't even think about crashing; my main concern was whether I would make itback in time for chapel."

Neil Westbury remembers a sense of peacefulness in the air.

"Iwas apprehensive atfirst," Westbury said, "but, when you're all alone, it's peaceful and everything just flows together Also, you don't have an instructor watching your every move."

"The scariest part wasn't a fearofcrashing,butwhat people were going tothinkof me when I landed," Westbury added, referring to theairport personnel who watch a student's flight and landing.

While thefirstsolo flightis an important milestone, itisonly one step toward apotential career.

The second level of the process is the commercial license and instrument training.According toSullivan,thisstep is "the difference between going to high school and going tocollege"intheworld of flying. This step requires 195hours offlight time of which at least 40 hours must be purely instrumental flying without using visual ground references.

"Instrument training makes you more capable," Sullivan said "The skills you learn areinvaluable."

"Invaluable" may bean understatement for a young pilot who suddenly finds himself in stormy weather unable to seethe ground A pilot's skill at instrument flying can mean the difference between staying in the air, plummeting to the ground or flying into a mountain. The last two

LBC aviationprogram. The program presently has eight students and isonly each student's first step toward attaining an air transport pilot's rating. choicesare notrecommended inthe pilot's flight manual.

The LBC minor ends with thisstage, but the career-oriented student pilot has just begun Commercial ground school,amultiengine rating,and the choice ofobtaining an instructor's rating are all stepping stones toward 1500flight hours which are necessary toacquire theairtransport pilot rating This isthe highest rating possible, but is only onealternativetoacareer-minded pilot.

Degler,a business administration major, isinterested inbecoming a corporationpilot or someone involved in the business aspect of the aviation industry

Westbury,on theother hand, hasset his sights for the space program after spending time asafighterandtestpilotinthe Air Force Other students'goals include flying for the Marines or becoming a missionary pilot.

No matter what the future holds, the aviation minor is only the beginning for those interested inflying But forstudents in the minor, the hours areworthwhilebecause, in the words of Murphy, "There's nothing like flying."

Dr.Gary Habermas, who wroteabook on the subject, explains features ofthe Shroud of Turin.

LBC President Dr. Pierre Guillermin, Mrs. Lakin, Dr. B.R. Lakin and Dr.JerryFalwell, college chancelor, participated in ceremonies during thededication of thebuilding toDr. Lakin.

Step by step the Division O f Religion has