THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, May 4, 1996 TAG: 9605040396
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALISON BOLOGNA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
There was a time when he was afraid of heights - when he would never volunteer to fly in a plane.
But instead of letting it get him down, Glen Lane, 18, took control. He got his pilot's license, enrolled in Norfolk State University's aviation program - the only four-year state-supported program in Virginia - and now he's training to become a professional pilot, eventually for a commercial airline.
``I've decided to do something that would put me up in the air every day,'' he said. ``I'm no longer afraid of heights. Now I love them.''
Lane is one of six pilots from NSU who are flying in a national aviation competition that ends today in Florida. This is the first time NSU has qualified for the event, and participants say they're learning more than how to be better pilots.
``They're learning how to deal with pressure,'' said NSU flight program manager John Lawler. ``This competition is about people working toward professional goals and this gives them milestones . . .''
Such milestones include learning how to work together on and off the ground.
``It's teamwork,'' said Donnetta Johnson, one of the ground students, as she practiced at Chesapeake Municipal Airport. ``Without the ground knowledge, we wouldn't be able to take care of the planes in the air.''
The competition recognizes this distinction by breaking the event into two parts: flight work and ground work. The flight portion involves short-field landing, poweroff landing and a navigation event.
The ground portion involves making flight computations, solving navigation problems, identifying aircraft and inspecting airplanes before flights.
``Everyone has their own function in the team, but all our efforts add up in the end,'' said James Mezzapeso, 29, a pilot in the competition.
And so far, Lawler said he's liked what he's seen.
``Everyone's helping each other out, which is good because as far as I'm concerned, there's no room for egos in aviation,'' he said.
NSU is competing against 21 other teams, including those from Ohio State, the Air Force Academy and the University of North Dakota - each has qualified as one of the top two teams in 11 regions.
Most of the students said before leaving that they expected tough competition.
``Preparing yourself is a major mental challenge because you have to be on top of it all,'' Mezzapeso said. ``Safety comes first and we always have to take the weather and wind into consideration.''
And that can be frustrating.
Other frustrations include expenses.
``Financially, it can hold you back sometimes,'' Mezzapeso said ``It costs a lot to pay for lessons and rent a plane.''
Each student is paying to fly to Florida, but the university is paying about $2,000 for the competition. Horizon Aviation is their flight school partner at Chesapeake Municipal Airport and it is renting three planes to NSU.
Despite the work and expenses, students said learning to fly and preparing for the event has been worthwhile.
``It's thrilling,'' Mezzapeso said. ``I've learned how to be self-motivated and that I can do it - I can accomplish goals.'' by CNB