Somewhere over the skyline
By Megan Marton
On Friday, junior Daniel Parmelee took a two-hour flight over Harrisonburg. The media arts and design major has been an avid aviation enthusiast since he was 6 years old and has been flying planes for the last four years with the hopes of becoming a pilot. Parmelee regularly rents a Cessna Skyhawk so he can fly and accumulate the required hours to earn a commercial license.
After flying his first plane at 6 years old, junior Dan Parmelee was hooked. Though that first flight was only with a model plane, he knew one day he would fly a real one.
Parmelee, who earned his private pilot's license at 18, is joining the new flight interest group on campus, founded by Kelly McClure, a junior international relations major. The group is for students interested in flying planes or learning more about aviation. It is not yet an official organization.
Obtaining a private pilot's license is not an easy feat. Applicants must be 17 years old and log 40 flight training hours, which includes solo and accompanied cross-country flights, night flights and practicing different takeoffs and landings. They must also pass two exams: a written Federal Aviation Administration exam and a flight exam called a "check ride."
"I've always wanted to fly," Parmelee said Friday as he cruising at an altitude of 1,000 feet above Harrisonburg in a 2002 Cessna Skyhawk plane. "Maybe not specifically for an airline though. I just want a career that allows me to fly."
Flying has been an important part of Parmelee's family passed on from his grandfather.
Parmelee said his grandfather, Dave MacFiggen, started flying at 16 "just for fun" before serving in the Navy in World War II and the Air Force in the Korean War. His grandfather flew for hire and taught people how to fly, including Parmelee's mother and his uncle, who both flew for American Airlines and now fly private corporate flights.
Parmelee also has a flight instructor's license, which certifies him to teach flying in light sport aircrafts, which have a maximum takeoff weight of 1,320 pounds. He also earned his instrument rating, which means he met the qualifications that a pilot must have to fly under Instrument Flight Rules.
"I'm working toward completing 1,500 flight hours so that I can apply for my airline transport pilot license," Parmelee said. "After I finish that, I will be able to carry cargo and passengers, work as a flight instructor or enter the military as a pilot."
Like Parmelee, McClure received her private pilot's license last summer and wanted to find other students who were interested in flying at JMU.
Also like Parmelee, flying is a family tradition for McClure.
"My dad has been a flight instructor for years so I have always had aviation in my life," McClure said. "I interned in London last year with the Royal Aeronautical Society as an editorial assistant and got to write my own article about business jets. That got me more interested in aviation and bringing it to JMU."
Sophomore Pablo Moulden, an international affairs major, tried to start an aviation club at JMU in 2009, but it soon fell apart. After attending a flight program in Georgia last summer, he wanted to find other students who were passionate about flying too.
"When I came back to school, I just couldn't get the word out to enough students or find a faculty adviser," Moulden said. "But I'm really excited about getting involved and helping to organize the club this time around."
McClure is focusing on finding a solid group of students.
On March 15, McClure sent a mass email to all JMU students to see if there were enough people interested in learning more about aviation and participating in a club on campus.
She got 40 responses within the first few days and then held the first interest meeting on March 21 in Warren Hall.
"I'm basically starting it from scratch myself," McClure said. "I went to the Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport a few weeks ago to get more information."
The goal of the interest meeting was to find out if students want to use the club as an educational tool or to just help with getting their private pilot licenses.
McClure said possible activities for club members could include trips to Shenandoah Regional Airport, the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum, talks with pilots and instructors and other flight-related activities.
Next fall, McClure plans to apply to become an officially recognized organization through the office of Student Activities and Involvement. This semester, she's focused on securing a faculty adviser and finding founding members.
"I hope the board will see that we're serious about making it a strong club with a good presence on campus in the future," McClure said.
Contact Megan Martin at marti2mm@dukes.jmu.edu.
