Recently the founder of this website was featured in the magazine In Flight USA for his work on http://answersforpilots.com. Here is a copy of the article which ran in November of 2009.
The Future of General Aviation ~ Meet James Sullivan
By Susan Terrell
“Within all of us is a varying amount of space lint and star dust, the residue from our creation. Most are too busy to notice it, and it is stronger in some than others. It is strongest in those of us who fly and is responsible for an unconscious, subtle desire to slip into some wings and try for the elusive boundaries of our origin.” K.O. Eckland, “Footprints On Clouds”
James Sullivan
I’d like to introduce you to James Sullivan. He is 17 years old, and if the above quote holds any truth at all, he must be chock full of space lint and star dust.
Three days after his 17th birthday James took his flight exam and passed, fulfilling a childhood dream of becoming a pilot. Forgive the intentional hyperbole here, but given the state of general aviation in this country and the need to color it in the eyes of the public in positive hues; the necessity of breathing new blood and life into it if it is to survive; the need for enthusiastic inspirational youth who have a passion for flying and want to pursue it as a life-long endeavor? James Sullivan is indeed it would seem – the future of General Aviation.
As a child he grew up flying commercial. Before he was four, his father’s employment at the time as an electrical engineer for Dupont found the family living in Delaware, Germany and Holland, “I remember on one of many transatlantic crossings as a child, instead of my usual face pressed against the window, I was busily sketching a map of the world to give to our pilots. Until that point I knew I had liked aviation, but this was the first time I wanted to get involved.”
The love of aviation and desire to get involved only grew as he did. As a gift for his 11th birthday his parents gave him the option of throwing a party with his friends, or to go flying. The gift of flight was James’s choice for his 11th birthday. It should come as no surprise that he shares, “I flew a 172 from Boeing Field (BFI) in Washington State to log my first hour of flight.”
If you ask him who and what had the greatest influence on the process he went through to learn to fly, the answer reflects a great deal about the maturity and focus of this young man. There is also a lesson here for those who want to see GA survive – a lesson in the importance of providing the opportunity for youth to discover a dream and passion, and then the importance of offering the support needed to achieve and pursue both.
“My passion, self-motivation, my parents, and an outstanding instructor had the greatest impact on my successful flight training. Something that sets me aside from many other pilots is that I have literally no family members who are even remotely interested in aviation. For this reason, I had to rely on myself for the motivation to push me through my training.
I need to thank my parents, because without their financial, physical and psychological support in spite of having no interest in aviation themselves, it would have been much more difficult to achieve my goal. They provided me with an interest free loan so that I could pay for my lessons, and drove me the 20 minutes each way to and from the airport every week. Above all, they were always mentally supportive of my goal, and fully behind my decision to pursue my PPL.
My instructor was a key part of my success also. Steve Nagorny is not only an intelligent instructor; he is also a supportive life mentor with a huge passion for getting youth interested in aviation. He is someone who is always busy, but will gladly set time aside to teach.
If I had a day that I was feeling down or not motivated he would push me to do better. He knew that I would be disappointed in the long run if I did not achieve my goal. If there were days my parents couldn’t take me to the airport, Steve would come out of his way to pick me up and bring me home. He is someone who I would be comfortable recommending to any student.”
When I asked instructor Steve Nagorny about James, a stream of positive sentiment poured forth that didn’t surprise me, “James is a self-directed, motivated, very focused, organized and mature young man.” He went on to express what a hard worker James is, and how far he has come from the “15 year old student pilot who had to sit on a cushion to see.”
From May 4th of this year until August 14th, James rented an apartment in Frederick, MD, went home on weekends, and worked 8:30 to 5:00 Monday thru Friday as AOPA’s youngest intern ever (and they’ve been around mind you, since 1939.) He worked in the pilot information center. writing, editing, updating and loading their subject reports online – dealing with everything from “Thunderstorm Avoidance” to “Aircraft Airworthiness,” completing 30 of them during his time there. If an AOPA member, you are encouraged to look them up; they are impressive and proof that AOPA’s faith in this young pilot was not unfounded.
James is not only an example of the future of GA, he is also a hands-on passionate advocate of it. James is the founder of the website “Answers for Pilots – Your Online Resource for Aviation Information.”
With the technical computer savvy and help of his younger brother Sam –who at 14 is already an accomplished self-taught programmer – James has created a site that he envisions developing into a valuable resource for pilots with questions, “Nothing beats education, unless you count free education, which is exactly what the site is; a free place for pilots to help one another.”
The professionalism of James’ site, both in appearance and content, is impressive. It was only after reading and exploring it for long enough to determine it was worth my time and attention, that I clicked on the “About Us” section to find that I was immersed in the creation of a 17-year-old pilot.
He proves himself also to be a 17-year-old pilot who already has a well-developed head on his shoulders when it comes to the right mind-set needed to be PIC. Two stories he shares are examples of skill and attitude that any pilot would do well to develop. He tells the following tale when asked what his most fulfilling moment as a pilot has been to date:
“I nailed a landing. I remember flying with my instructor Steve on one of the windiest days I’ve experienced. After an intense approach filled with turbulence, a huge crab and enough sinkholes to make me feel weightless, I nailed a landing right on the numbers. During the roll out my instructor broke the silence by clapping and said, “You flew that better than some of the people I trained in the Navy.”
And conversely, when asked about his first moment of real trepidation in flight, he shares this:
“After completing my 4-month summer internship with AOPA, I came back home to York, PA to fly my parents in celebration. During the takeoff roll, and just before rotation, I started hearing this “SMACK, SMACK, SMACK” noise every few seconds. I immediately realized I couldn’t abort the takeoff, but that my engine was producing normal power and the aircraft was responding positively to my control inputs. The more I heard the sound, the more I began thinking it sounded like something was smacking the skin of our craft. I flew a tight pattern around THV, and landed to examine the exterior of the aircraft. It turns out a pitot cover had been stuck in the door, and was slapping against the belly of the plane. It was an experience that reminded me of the importance of a thorough pre-flight, as well as competency in emergency procedures. My parents were a little shaken, but glad to learn how minor the problem was, and we continued the flight without interruption.”
There is little doubt that many more “James Sullivans” are out there who are indeed chock full of “space lint and star dust;” that hold within them a passion for aviation and the dream to someday fly and just need the chance to discover it. Let the adults of the world who have nurtured their own passion and made their own dreams to fly come true, “pay it forward” as the saying goes, and make it a priority to encourage and support the young men and women out there who are indeed the future of general aviation.
It seems appropriate to end this profile of James with his own thoughts regarding general aviation and his ideas about what needs to be done to ensure its future:
“I think that my work on answersforpilots.com is a relatively small step toward the revitalization of general aviation. I say this because although I personally sacrificed a lot for the site, I realize much more needs to be done for GA. It needs to be re-worked in such a way that aviation can be made more affordable, more accessible and more socially accepted. I feel this can be done on a small scale such as with answersforpilots, or it can be done on a large scale through an aviation organizations’ impact, by an FAA’s rule revision, or by some other means.
If you look around you will notice many more of the small scale impacts than the large scale ones. For example, my flight instructor started a program at a local high school to get students interested in aviation, with no backing from any of the major aviation organizations. The program has seen great success, and is a perfect example of how one man’s work helped better the cause of promoting aviation.
But my instructor’s work alone will not be enough to support the revitalization that many agree general aviation needs. We need more big-scale fixes – lower user fees, support for after-school aviation programs with government grants, more publicizing of the benefits a GA airport can bring to a community. It is big changes like these that will re-shape GA and the public’s view of it, ultimately making it more affordable and more diverse.
Personally I plan to continue supporting GA through my website as a resource for pilots with questions. I hope to expand my impact on general aviation and I am constantly brainstorming ways to do this. One way I think would be to run a series of public service ads displaying positive statistics generated by general aviation. There is much to be done for GA, and I look forward to hearing some of the talk and ideas hopefully generated by this article.”
To that end, please e-mail James at: SaveGA@answersforpilots.com with any ideas you might have for saving and promoting GA.
It’s fair to say that James’s youth, perspective, accomplishments and attitude combine to ask us to leave room within our supposed superior wisdom as his elders to listen to what he and his generation have to say; to open ourselves to allow them what should be a valued voice in the discussion. It seems wise to let them help show us the way to leaving them a legacy of a thriving general aviation community to become a part of – instead of a broken dream.
Thanks for the support! I am currently thriving in Daytona Fl, as I attend my Freshman year of college at Embry-Riddle.
Great job James. Reminds me of my own story as a teen. Keep pursuing your dreams.