ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, March 29, 1996 TAG: 9603290056
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: MICHAEL HALEY SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES
Listening to the hum of a twin-engine Cessna 310 as it cruises at 185 mph is music to Lisa de Vries' ears.
Swept away by the power of a particular movement, one gets a feeling of flight as de Vries lends her violin to a classical piece.
For more than a decade de Vries has successfully combined two demanding careers: pilot and musician. Since 1989 she has been a flight instructor at the Virginia Tech Airport and been a member of the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra. For more than a year de Vries has run an air taxi and charter service out of Blacksburg; she also teaches music students at her home studio in Roanoke.
It is an unusual but rewarding lifestyle.
``I often think of which one I would give up,'' de Vries said. ``When I'm in the air, I say music. But when I'm in the orchestra I say, `I can't give this up.'''
De Vries was born and raised in the Netherlands, where she learned to play the violin and viola and eventually became a music teacher. In 1978 she moved to the island of Aruba, a former Dutch colony in the West Indies, on a government contract to teach at a music school. It was there de Vries met her future husband, Dick Bosworth. An engineer by trade and pilot by hobby, Bosworth taught de Vries how to fly.
After leaving Aruba in 1985 for Germany and Spain, the couple relocated in 1989 to Roanoke, where Bosworth works for General Electric. "Aruba was one place where I could do both music and fly," said de Vries, who began flying in 1981 and became an instructor in 1983. "In Germany I could only really fly and in Spain I only did music. When I came out here I could do both again."
Being a pilot is de Vries' primary focus now that she and Bosworth own Professional Air Service Inc., which started flying passengers in November 1994. Bosworth is the president and handles financial affairs and maintenance; de Vries is vice president, general manager and the primary pilot.
"My main goal is to make Professional Air Service go and grow," she said. "I actually thought I would be out of music by now."
The biggest challenge as general manager is to find a niche for a one-plane operation working out of a relatively unknown airport.
"The charter business is quite irregular," de Vries said. "A lot of people say they didn't know there was an airport here or they thought it was a private university airport. This is a public airport.
"For a beginning business we're not doing bad. It takes a while to turn a profit. We still need to develop the regular customer," de Vries said.
De Vries and Bosworth, married 15 years, have launched an aggressive marketing campaign to enhance recognition. The plan has de Vries involved in lectures, visits to businesses and several direct mailings. Professional Air Service is on the Internet, and was one of the first businesses to have a home page.
Last July, de Vries was interviewed on NBC's Today Show in connection with the Blacksburg Electronic Village.
"The traffic we get [on the Internet home page] is from all over the world," she said.
The message de Vries wants to relay to people is that they have another option when traveling. Professional Air Service will take passengers anywhere in the continental United States. Just as with a taxicab, the price is based on distance traveled regardless of how many customers are on board. Thus, a day trip for a family or business group to a destination off the beaten path is the ideal situation. De Vries' Cessna 310 can cover 400 miles in two hours and 20 minutes.
"People are so used to driving to Roanoke" to the airport, de Vries said. "But I can pick up anywhere - Pulaski, Hillsville. We fly where most airlines don't. That way you don't have to fly and then rent a car and drive an hour to get there.''
As much time and energy as the charter business requires, de Vries is still committed to her music. "Even people who work full time have hobbies," she said. "Violin and viola will always be a part of my life. I still love to play in the orchestra."
In the de Vries household in Holland, music lessons were a must for the children. It didn't take Lisa long to discover her instruments of choice.
"My mother thought that music was part of education, so she sent us to music school," de Vries said. "My sister and I had to learn the piano. But I didn't like the piano, so I played the violin."
What interests de Vries the most at this stage of her life is teaching - passing on her gifts as a pilot and musician.
"It is such a thrill to take someone who's never been up and show them how to fly," de Vries said. "I'm a teacher at heart."
LENGTH: Medium: 89 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ALAN KIM/Staff. Lisa de Vries on her unusual combinationby CNBof careers: ``I often think of which one I would give up. When I'm
in the air, I say music. But when I'm in the orchestra I say, `I
can't give this up.''' color.