BATAVIA, Ohio — A flight school at the Clermont County Airport is offering affordable introductory flights for adults and free monthly flights for kids — giving aviation newcomers of all ages a chance to experience the skies.
Sporty's flight school offers what it calls discovery flights, giving first-timers the chance to taxi, take off, fly a pattern and land back at the Clermont County Airport. Kids can fly for free through the Experimental Aircraft Association's Young Eagles program, which Sporty's hosts once a month.
Noah Frye grew up on the east side of Cincinnati with aviation in his blood. He went on to become a licensed pilot and flight instructor and is now applying to fly small commuter jets — a journey that began at flight school.
"When I was a kid, I always dreamed of being up in the air. I would hear my dad tell stories of when he was flying in the Navy, and it always just motivated me. It's surreal that I'm in the air now and flying around, and of course the view is just incredible," Frye said.
Frye described flying as more intuitive than many people expect — once you're in the air.
"For flying the airplane, it's fairly intuitive. If you want to turn left, turn the wheel left. If you wanna turn right, turn the wheel to the right. On the ground and getting the airplane getting ready for takeoff, it's not as simple! You don't turn the wheel to turn the aircraft on the ground; you have to use the pedals at your feet. It's definitely a little complicated. I would always joke most people after the first flight could probably successfully fly that airplane most of the time, but on the ground it's a nightmare," Frye said.
On the question of safety, Frye said the process is thorough before any flight leaves the ground.
"It's extremely safe. I'm sure a lot of people have heard that statistic that you're a lot safer in an airplane than a car. We have all sorts of safety procedures we go through, so if we were to take you on a discovery flight, for example, I'll show y'all all of our pre-flight procedures. We're checking out the airplane, making sure there's nothing wrong with it. We check the fuel to make sure there's no contaminants. We check the oil levels. Of course we have a checklist inside the airplane that we go through for each and every procedure before we start takeoff," Frye said.
For anyone on the fence, Frye had a direct message.
"It's never too late to start! Don't think you have to keep waiting to get more money. Jump and do that discovery flight, and you will fall in love with aviation; it's never too late," Frye said.
Those who complete a discovery flight leave with an official flight log and one hour of flight experience on the books.
You can learn more about the flights available here.
