CityView Magazine

CityViewNC.com | 13 pilots serve as flight instructors. Scot Smith, owner of Cape Fear Aviation, says the earlier a person is exposed to the aviation industry, the better. "What we're trying to do here is just show them how attainable aviation is and attaining a pilot's license can be," Smith says. "Basically, we're flying around, and what we're trying to get across is that they can fly the plane. We get up there and get in the air, and we let them handle the controls. "It's just the very basics, enough that they can climb and turn and turn right and turn le. at's it. We just want them to be able to get to a particular point and do that successfully, and that's their first win. When we get done, everybody says the same thing: It's a lot easier than I thought." Smith was the flight instructor for Lopez-Andujar. "e cool thing with him was he was so quiet," Smith says. "He seemed nervous and timid, but by the end of the flight he was talking about how much fun he had and how easy it was and how cool it was. "So obviously there was a lot of nerves early on, but he picked it up and did really well." So well that Lopez-Andujar could not wait to share his adventure with fellow students at tryouts for E.E. Smith's boys soccer team. "Not many people can say that they've flown today," he says. "Now when I go to tryouts, I can tell everybody, 'Hey, I just flew in an airplane today.'" Lopez-Andujar was taking it all in. "I try to learn something every day, so you cannot stop learning. Expand that dictionary in your mind, get as much knowledge, become a better person," the 16-year-old says. "You get as much information as you can, pay attention, and overall, it was worth it." Like getting a college degree Smith, who taught his first flight lesson as owner of Cape Fear Aviation in 2016, says any one of the students that he showed the ropes on Aug. 7 could become a pilot in four years. Area middle school and high school students interested in aviation attended the ACE Academy program.

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