Siuslaw News
SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2017
9 A
Community Voices
L EARNING
TO
F LY — P ART I
Florence Aviation Academy shows
students what it takes to pilot planes
B Y R AMIRO R AMIREZ J R .
Special to the Siuslaw News
(Editor’s Note: From Aug. 14 to
25, Florence pilots Sam Spayd and
Terry Tomeny opened the Florence
Aviation Academy to 13 Boys and
Girls of Western Lane County teens.
Here, one of those students gives a
first-hand account of class time, les-
sons learned and the preparation
involved before students could fly.
Read Part II in Saturday’s edition of
Siuslaw News.)
One day I’m in a classroom learning
to fly; a weekend and four days later,
I’m airborne.
Florence Aviation Academy was
more than just learning how airplanes
fly. I learned about the history of
planes, airshows, the U.S. Air Force,
commercial airlines, radio-controlled
(RC) planes and drones. The speakers
were great, and the teachers were great
as well. I also learned that this experi-
ence is something many should try,
whether young or old.
When I came in for the first day of
the academy, I thought we were going
to learn too much. Buttons buttons and
more buttons that do only one thing.
The good news was, the instructors,
Sam Spayd and Terry Tomeny, noti-
fied us we are just scraping the surface
of aviation. But the bad news? We had
to take a test the next week to show
how well we paid attention. So it put
pressure on me that I had to pay atten-
tion as much as possible to ace the test.
I told the instructors I attended the
academy to be an emergency pilot, but
I did not trust planes at all, mostly
because of the news stories. However,
after the first day, I decided that maybe
I could lose the fear, especially as we
were told that we would be in the sky
the very next week.
When we came back to class, we
Ramiro Ramirez sits in
the cockpit of a U.S.
Coast Guard MH-65
Dolpin Helicopter at
Florence Events Center
during the Florence
Aviation Academy.
CHANTELLE MEYER/SIUSLAW NEWS
learned about making radio calls, the
anatomy of a runway and choosing a
runway in weather conditions.
On the third day, the academy
became more exciting, as we got a
speech from a person at the local RC
flying club.
The speaker said that RC planes are
“real” planes. When comparing an RC
plane to a real life size plane, you will
find the RC plane has the same parts
and pieces as a life-size plane. We then
were given the chance to fly them.
I was all in for the opportunity.
At first, it looked easy. I have an air-
plane simulator on my phone that I
had mastered, making me think I had
an advantage. After flying the RC
plane, I found a huge difference. It
was frustrating for me to try and turn
VENDORS WANTED
the plane, as the plane would immedi-
ately plummet down. Luckily, the RC
club member was able to regain con-
trol of my plane and keep it flying.
The fourth day of the class fell on
Aug. 21, a special day. We would kick
off the week with a 97.6 percent total-
ity eclipse. It was beautiful.
We sat on the field of the airport,
watching airplanes fly north for totali-
ty, including Mr. Tomeny in the Aero
Legends Stearman Biplane.
As the moon’s shadow moved past
us, the north sky looked space blue,
temperatures dropped and colors
turned warmer, as if our eyes were fit-
ted with Instagram filters.
This week was even better than the
first one.
The next time we met, we learned
about drones, such as that drones came
in all shapes and sizes, and some
drones can be custom built to the cus-
tomer’s choice.
“Drone” is actually an acronym that
stands for: Dynamic Remotely
Operated Navigation Equipment.
Some think that all drones do is fly,
but they can do more than just that.
Drones have been used as filming
equipment, news recorders and are
even capable of following a person.
Just like with the RC planes, we got
to fly them. I had a blast flying the
drone. It was so much easier for me
than flying the RC plane. It was a great
unit to learn about, and I would like to
take another chance to fly one again.
In addition, at the end of the unit,
we got the whole class together to get
a picture from the drone.
For the sixth class, we had a guest
speaker from the U.S. Air Force,
which started as a spinoff from the
U.S. Army, and grew into its own
branch.
We also heard from an active com-
mercial pilot from Delta Airlines. It
was fascinating knowing that he pre-
ferred the longer international flights
instead of the in-country flights. His
reason was because he could take two
days of long flights, and then have the
rest of the month off.
As a souvenir, he gave us each a
Delta Airlines pin, and two collectable
cards that contained information on
the Boeing 757-300 and the Boeing
767-300ER, two airplanes they use at
Delta. I loved the souvenirs so much, I
may have started a brand loyalty to
Delta.
Next were speakers from former
employees of United, Continental and
Pan-American airlines, and the U.S.
Coast Guard. The Continental flight
mechanic told us that a flight mechan-
ic is a very important job since they
have to check and fix any problems on
the planes.
The former Coast Guard member
told us her experience with the U.S.
Coast Guard was a rewarding career,
but it came to a close when she had
children. It was nice to hear about the
amount she has served in the Coast
Guard.
The last two speakers showed pic-
tures of United Airlines employees in
their uniforms, and in front of one of
their planes.
When the speakers finished, we had
a test to take. I tried my hardest on the
test. Some were easy while others I got
a little stumped on.
After that day, I knew there was one
last thing to do before I completed the
class — it was to fly.
ASK A MASTER RECYCLER
G UTHRIE K USHNER , M ASTER R ECYCLER
A MONTHLY COLUMN OF RECYCLING INFORMATION PROVIDED BY F LORENCE M ASTER R ECYCLERS
Greentrees Craft Sale
October 20th and 21st
$20.00 per table • Reserve your table now!
call 541-997-8674
For the Siuslaw News
Master Recyclers behind
the scenes in the Florence area
are responsible for things that
they have felt a need to do.
They have a commitment to
reduce, reuse and recycle
those items that would other-
wise end up in a landfill.
For example, the drop
boxes for used ink cartridges
and electronics set up at the
Siuslaw Public Library and
businesses around the com-
munity.
The Siuslaw Genealogy
Society (SGS) has been
an outstanding organization
utilizing recycling by collect-
ing ink cartridges, old cell
phones and electronic
devices. The money
received for recycling
is used by SGS to help pay for
online family research sites.
There are three online sites
free to the public at the
library, as well as call helpers
and family research helpers
two days a week.
Pat Rongey is a fundraising
member available at the
library on Tuesdays and
Sundays to help with fam-
ily research or electronics
BINGO IS BACK!
ADA GRANGE #570
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 16
5:00 p.m. Kitchen Opens
6:00 p.m. BINGO
Regular menu plus homemade soup
Bring your friends!
Tuesday 9/5
Linda Occhi
Doris Creager
Florence
Florence
U R Worth It
Cheveux Spa
Wednesday 9/6
Donna Gray
Debra Hoberg
Livingston, TX
Florence
Three Rivers Casino Resort
Florence Liquor Agency
Thursday 9/7
Raymond Bray
Chuck Waide Jr.
Florence
Florence
Dunes Café
Best Thai Cuisine
Friday 9/8
Thelma Hale
Thelma Hale
Deadwood
Deadwood
Safeway/Florence
Safeway/Florence
Saturday 9/9
Donna Price
Ken Wallstrom
Florence
Veneta
Safeway/Florence
Safeway/Florence
Sunday 9/10
Raymond Bray
Joe McKean
Florence
Florence
Safeway/Florence
Safeway/Florence
Monday 9/11
Stephanie Brown
Bear McDaniel
Florence
Westlake
Three Rivers Casino Resort
Safeway/Florence
Questions? Call Nancy 541-997-2380 • 10 Miles out Canary Road
THANK YOU!
THANK YOU to these sponsors for helping make
the Car Show Fundraiser for the Boys and Girls
club a success. Safeway, Bonjour, Sherwood Like
A Tow, Copeland Lumber, Roby’s Furniture, Les
Schwab, Funky Monkey, Coast Radio (Wayne
Sharpe), Dan Harkin, Siuslaw News (Jeanna
Petersen), Pro Lumber & Family Value Writers.
Plus all those Beautiful classic cars!
Th ank you to all the Residents from
Shorewood Senior Living, and a big
THANK YOU to all who attended. But
most of all, thank you to all the kids
from Boys and Girls Club, who gave us a
reason to have so much fun!
541-997-8202
1451 Spruce Street
recycling.
Over the years, the SGS has
collected 423 pounds of ton-
ers, 73 pounds of ink car-
tridges, 1 pound of aluminum
and 1 pound of copper.
According to Eco-Impact,
the amount of C02 emmis-
sions saved would be equal to
512 galons of gas.
Next
month,
Master
Recyclers
will
be
at
Oktoberfest with its reusable
dishware program to reduce
the use of throw-away uten-
sils.
Florence Master Recyclers
(MR) are part of the Lane
County Master Recycler
Program, a service of the
county’s Public Works Waste
Management Division since
2002.
The mission of the MR pro-
gram is to bridge the gap
between awareness and action
by motivating people to
reduce solid waste at home,
work and play.
This monthly column, writ-
ten for The Siuslaw News,
answers commonly asked
recycling questions. For more
recycling information, visit
www.ci.florence.or.us/building
/recycling or www.lanecounty.
org/Departments/PW/WMD/
Recycle or follow Master
Recyclers of Florence on
Facebook.
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