"From The Ground Up"

Thank you for listening to "From the Ground Up", and for taking the time to visit us on the web. Have you heard all three series with a total of 60 reports? If not, you might want to check with your local radio station to find out when they expect to run the rest of the "From the Ground Up" series. And while you're listening and learning, we'll produce another series.

When I hatched a deal with a local flight instructor to trade radio commercial time for flying lessons, I had in the back of my mind that it would be an interesting experience to chronicle the actual course of my learning. Having been a broadcast journalist for much of my life, this is how I approach life. I hadn't planned to turn the practice into the actual radio commercial, but that's what happened.

I waited until I had several weeks of instruction under my belt before I started writing so I wouldn't run out of material, but bad weather and limited availability of the pilot and the aircraft caused a pause in the series. Nonetheless, when it came back on the air, it found a very receptive audience. One fellow who'd never even flown in a commercial liner said he was going to take a discovery ride to see about flying himself. For more than a year after they were off the air, people would come up to me on the street to talk about their own flying experience, or their dreams.

You can sample some of the original "From the Ground Up" radio reports. They run about two minutes each. I put some music under them, mostly Craig Chaquico's (formerly of Jefferson Airplane) "Return of the Eagle" off his "Acoustic Highway" CD.

Because flying -- and continuing to learn to do it better -- have become so important to me, the subject occasionally filters into my week-daily SetonnoteS commentary. Click on the link to read some of those essays. Also, there is a link to a longer article I wrote on my first solo flight, which was printed in "Flight Training" magazine.

I encourage anyone considering learning how to fly to go up at least once in a small plane. There are many programs available that can give you that trip for under $50.00. If you would like to take a discover flight, click to go to the "Learn to Fly" form. It is not a commitment. It just provides us with the information to find a flight operation near you that will offer you an inexpensive flight that could take you on an extraordinary new path!