Passed With "Flying" Colors

Local Trucker Trades 18 Wheels for Two Wings


For more information, contact Prof. H. Paul Shuch, Chief Flight Instructor
Office (570) 748-3725, Cell (570) 419-1229, email fly@AvSport.org

Lock Haven, PA, 26 February 2011 – Culminating six months of flight training during which he flew nearly every weekend, Keith McAndrew, a Williamsport truck driver originally from Ontario, Canada, today passed his FAA practical exam, becoming a fully licensed Sport Pilot. McAndrew, 53, completed his training at AvSport of Lock Haven, the sport aviation training center established a year ago on the William T. Piper Memorial Airport. His oral and flight examinations were conducted by Art Tarola, an FAA designated pilot examiner from Allentown PA, under the supervision of AvSport adjunct flight instructor John Spencer.

"Keith was an ideal student,” stated Spencer. “He displayed first rate enthusiasm and an excellent work ethic. His flying skills and overall knowledge of the pertinent information gave true credence to thework he put into learning to fly."

“It’s been a pleasure working with Keith these past six months,” said Prof. H. Paul Shuch, AvSport’s founder and Chief Flight Instructor. “He is a seasoned skydiver, which gave him extensive aeronautical experience prior to commencing flight training. I knew he was going to do well on his practical test when he missed but a single question on his FAA written exam.”

While McAndrew says he found learning to fly to be more challenging than at first he thought it would be, he relates that “each accomplishment was more satisfying than I expected as well. The first unassisted take-off is an experience I will never forget. The first unassisted landing, even more so. The first solo stands alone as the greatest sense of accomplishment in the training process! It is at that point that you really get the sense that you are actually becoming a pilot. Once you experience solo flight for the first time, that is all the encouragement needed to do whatever it takes, to continue until you can do it all of the time with your own pilot's license.”

AvSport is registered with the US Transportation Security Administration as an approved Alien Flight Student Program provider. Although a permanent US resident, McAndrew is still a Canadian citizen. Obtaining the required TSA approvals delayed his flight training by about a month. The TSA closely scrutinizes all foreign nationals who seek to learn to fly in the US.

The Sport Pilot license is the newest portal of entry into the world of aviation, allowing prospective pilots to become licensed in half the time, and at half the cost, of the traditional Private Pilot license. Sport pilots fly for fun, and are restricted to flying simple, safe, low performance aircraft that comply with the Light Sport rule. They are allowed to carry a single passenger, flying in uncongested airspace, during daylight hours, and only in good weather conditions. Piper Memorial Airport is the ancestral home to the legendary Piper Cub, arguably the world’s first sport plane. Modern Light Sport aircraft allow pilots to recapture the bygone fly-for-fun Cub era,with increased reliability and improved safety.

DOWNLOADABLE PHOTO: http://www.avsport.org/photos/students/Keith+Art.jpg CAPTION: Newly licensed Sport Pilot Keith McAndrew receives his Sport Pilot license from FAA designated pilot examiner Art Tarola at AvSport of Lock Haven.