As you all know, I’ve met some great people on twitter! I’d like to introduce you to two private pilots, Vincent and Jason. They have a dream to fly across the U.S. and are in the process of planning their trip. Here is a little background on each followed by an interview I had with Vincent:
Vincent Lambercy is a Swiss private pilot, now living near Frankfurt (Germany). He learned to fly in Geneva, Switzerland, where he earned his IFR rating. He has logged more than 360 hours total flight time, of which 100 are IFR. He is rated on single and multi engine piston aircraft. Online, Vincent is also known as PlasticPilot and is a supporter of modern general aviation: FADEC engines, glass-cockpits and composite fuselages. You can read more from him under www.plasticpilot.net. Professionaly speaking, Vincent is an software engineer, focusing on air traffic control systems.
Jason Schappert is a 1500 hour Certified Flight Instructor and was awarded AOPA’s Top Flight Instructor Award at NIFA 2008. He currently works as a flight instructor in the central Florida area and operates Schapp Aviation. You can read more from Jason on www.m0a.com. There he shares insights and industry secrets on flight training that have helped many students greatly exceed FAA performance and safety requirements.
The Flying Pinto: It is obvious that you are both passionate about aviation. At what age did you discover flying and when and how did you begin pursuing it?
Vincent: We have different profiles. Jason is a “fly before drive” guy, with more than 1,500 hours and CFI / CFII at age 22. I came to aviation “later”, taking my first lesson in 2001, at age 23. I’m a software engineer, and have been active in software for Air Traffic Control since 2000. I met colleagues who were pilots, and this is how it all started. Flying and working a full time job, in a country where winter is not always VFR (visual flight rules) friendly, it took me a bit more than one year to get my private pilots license.
FP: Please explain to my non-twitter readers what your adventure is all about.
Vincent: We will fly from Florida to California and back, in a small aircraft to meet aviation fans, pilots or not, and show the positive aspects of General Aviation. The way people perceive aviation changed a lot over the last years, because of safety and economy related concerns. We want to show that aviation is still fun and cool in the 21st century.
This is however only one part of our message. Beside being a lot of fun, aviation creates great solidarity and friendship amongst pilots across distance and culture, and serves the community. Think of medical transport, TV coverage, freight, postal services, and so on. Finally, learning to fly is a great opportunity to improve self confidence, decision making and other important skills.
The flight itself is an opportunity to catch media attention and pass our message to the general audience, not only to the General Aviation community.
We will raise funds for two purposes: funding the flight and accommodation costs, and to make a donation to an aviation related charity. In a perfect world we should fund all of the flying ourselves, but this is not possible, at least not yet. We don’t see this as a reason to not start the project. We do our best to fund as much as we can ourselves but it is very clear that the primary goal of the donations is to make the whole operation possible.
FP: I’ve watched your plan develop from the beginning and I find it exciting, kind of in an Amelia Earhart or Charles Lindbergh way. I never knew as a kid that becoming a pilot was an option, this is a great way to get kids excited about flying. Have you contacted any schools or organizations like http://www.girlswithwings.com/ ?
Vincent: We’re in touch with Girls With Wings, but have no formal collaboration for the time being. There is however something we share in Lynda’s concept. She says that girls need flight plans, not fairy tales. What she means is that girls need concrete examples, models to which they can relate.
This is also a reason why we want to take this flight. Saying what General Aviation does is an important thing. But showing it, demonstrating how people create links around aviation is one more step. We want to show real-life example of it, not only talk or write about it on our blogs.
Motivating people to start flying is a great goal, but we don’t focus on that. Many aviation fans are not pilots. Go at an airport café on a sunny week-end and look at the people there. Some come only to see planes operating around. These people also share the aviation dream and are a part of this community.
FP: I love that you are looking for participation and willing to meet folks along the way. Have you had a big response? What airports will you have greeters at so far?
Vincent: This is most of our route. It can still change but for the time being it is as follows:
Ocala, FL (Jason’s homebase)
Daytona Beach, FL to make it really coast to coast
Baton-Rouge, LA to meet a very early adopter, John, who invested a lot of energy in our project
Sweetwater, TX to pay a tribute to the WASPs
El Paso, TX where we’ll stop by Cutter Aviation (
www.cutteraviation.com). They run a network of FBOs in the Southwest and also organize a giveaway. If you want to win “the Aviator” chopper, visit them. They also support Challenge Air (
www.challengeair.org) , an organization taking physically challenged kids in flight.
Prescott, AZ where we’ll meet with @kristine_flies, a fellow twitter and senior at ERAU.
Catalina Island, CA our turning point. We hope to meet several pilots of the area there and have great times together
Santa-Maria, CA where we have a very active supporter as well
Las Vegas, NV an unavoidable stop. We have nothing formal there yet, but some contacts
Roswell, NM where some other foreigners landed, decades ago. We don’t have any plans there… for the time being. We’re sure that there’s a great aviation community there and try to get it touch with some of its members.
Austin, TX to stop by fellow twitter
@jenniferwhitley who is an equity owner in, and corporate officer of, the coolest flying club in Texas:
Chandelle Flying Club. Jen kindly invited us for lunch and we’ll certainly organize something with her club.
Layfayette, LA where we’ve been invited to stop by the
Lafayette Conventions and Visitors Center. They reacted quickly on a tweet when we were looking for a stop. Being a native French speaker, I’m really looking forward to a stop there.
Daytona Beach, FL the first and final destination, marking the end of this extraordinary trip across America. There are so many pilot schools on site and at nearby airports that organizing a cool event here will not be a problem. And this time, it’ll be more than just a quick stop, we promise!
A very busy agenda indeed, but this should not prevent fans to join and get in touch with us. We want to reach the widest possible audience. Each third day will be a reserve, to cope with possible delays and stick to our planning as well as we can.
FP: Have you met each other in person yet? Vincent, are you planning a trip to the states prior to your flight?
Vincent: This certainly sounds crazy, but no. It is very possible that we will “meet” for the first time one day before starting our flight. Given the cost of transatlantic flights, it’s not something we can do that often. Naturally, if some airline miles millionaire wants to help us… One problem is that I’ll need a fixed ticket. The very nature of the project makes stand-by or non-rev not practical. I’ll use all of my 2010 holiday time for this and can’t afford delays.
FP: I know you said if you have any money left over you will donate it, maybe you could plan another adventure and fly across Europe?
Vincent: We’ll donate the extra money, this is our promise. And we hope that this will be a lot! But the last landing will not be the end of the project. We’ll continue to use the momentum we’ll gain to promote General Aviation. We have some plans, but it’s a bit early to talk about them.
Unfortunately, flying across Europe is not as easy as flying across America. General aviation is not as developed and widespread on this side of the Pond. Pilots in the USA enjoy a great freedom and should fight to conserve it. For example, user fees are no debate in Europe, because they are the rule…
FP: Tell everyone how they can get involved and support you.
Vincent: First things first, anyone can buy miles from our website,
www.flyingacrossamerica.com. We sell them for $3.75 each and we must sell 4.000 of them. Kimberly Risley (
www.krizphoto.com), who designed our logo, also designed nice in-flight shots of N512R, the Cessna 150 we’ll fly. Supporters can buy tee-shirts and mouse pads with her artwork from
http://www.printfection.com/FlyingAcrossAmerica – The price of each item contains a 2 miles patronage.
It is also important to let people know about our project. We do all our promotion online via
Twitter (@FlyingAcrossUSA) and
facebook. Being relayed by blogs like yours is a great help. We are convinced that online word-of-mouth will make this project a success. Bloggers are welcome to contact us for running such an interview.
Anyone living close to one of our planned stop is welcome to meet us. Some pilots will join us for a leg, and we’re looking forward to meet many aviation enthusiasts. We need help to widen our audience, getting media relays, and local supporter groups. Anyone with ideas, time, or both is welcome. The best way is to visit our website, and contact us.
FP: Thank you for the interview and Good Luck! It’s a great project and your enthusiasm is catchy! I am hoping to bring my family out to meet you when you pass through Houston!
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The aeroplane in the picture is really beautiful and I would like to fly it some day and cruise over the seas.
Best of luck with your journey! It takes courage to follow your passion…and you both have it in spades!
Wow, that was terrific! Thanks for sharing. And good luck on the journey!
xo