Now that my son has completed his training, and passed his checkride,
I can chalk up three pilots that I have mentored from zero to
private. I'm working on two more right now, and I hope Mary and I
have inspired a few more through the hotel.

I am rightfully proud of this accomplishment, but -- more importantly
-- I challenge everyone here to ACTIVELY mentor a potential pilot.
This isn't hard -- it just means passing along your enthusiasm to
someone outside the pilot community. It means being inclusive (not
always easy, in the relatively exclusive GA world), welcoming,
friendly, positive, and -- most importantly -- caring about the future
of our airports, and our way of life.

Every pilot I talk with laments the decline of GA, but few know what
they can do to do to fix it. I'm here to tell ya that putting folks
in cockpits is the only sure-fire method I know that will keep GA
strong.

When you meet potential new pilots, don't start talking about "the
stupid FAA", or the "stupid TSA", or "all the red tape to get your
medical", or the "bleak future of GA". I see this happen all the
time -- a group of half a dozen pilots (and one or two potential
students) will get all wound up about some aggravating aspect of GA,
and the old-timers will go on and on about how awful it all is -- or
how much better it was twenty years ago.

Imagine yourself in that group, as a non-pilot! You'd think there was
little point in pursuing the dream, given the dire state of affairs.
It's only natural for pilots to bitch about stuff -- it's what we do
best, after all -- but please be careful about who is listening, lest
we scare off the newbies...

Concentrate on the joy of flight, and the freedom to zip around the
skies unhindered by man or gravity. Don't whine about the costs --
concentrate on the BENEFITS. Do what you can to share *your* love of
flight -- cuz enthusiasm is contagious. To this end, AOPA has lots of
good stuff for being a mentor, from hats to certificates to webpages
-- if you're not a member, join.

Support GA -- be a mentor!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"