Victor Harwood submitted this photo and note: “Ezra Harwood, 10, taking his first flight in a Piper Cherokee 180 from flight school Six 1 Fly at Portland Municipal Airport/ Douglas Hunter Field (1M5) in Tennessee. Ezra has been interested in aviation for several years now after attending The Great Tennessee Airshow. He plans to continue his aviation dreams by obtaining his private pilot certificate at age 17 and wishes to join the Air Force, continuing his family tradition of serving his country.”
Would you like to have your photo featured as Picture of the Day? You can submit it via this form.
All photos sent in for Picture of the Day are also considered for our new Page 4 photo feature in the print issue of General Aviation News, as well as A Year in Pictures in the December issues.
Click here to see the photo of the day archives.
Hooray for Victor! When he reaches college age and applies for a flying gig with USAF, he ought to know – the cost to US taxpayers to train a USAF pilot for the F-16 is running nearly $7 million these days. Who knows what it will be a decade from now. Add to those costs for Victor’s government job are probably a free college education, a salary, generous housing allowance, benefits and job security most of us in the private sector can only dream of. It still is possible to make a professional career of aviation outside the government and without costing taxpayers a penny. Do as I did – start sweeping hangar floors, washing planes, cleaning the restrooms and bug guts off of airplanes when you are 15. Save money (hard once you discover girls) and plow it into your flight training. Look at places like crop dusting or JAARS (Mission aviation) for ways to do some demanding, and fun flying compared to a government job that really benefit people instead of blowing up stuff. Besides, when Victor reaches USAF pilot age, most of its fleet will not need a pilot, anyway. He will end up “flying” from a trailer in a desert somewhere. No thanks….