Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, February 14, 1991                   TAG: 9102150598
SECTION: NEIGHBORS                    PAGE: S/11   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: LAURA HUNT BURCHETT SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

FLYING IS A FAMILY AFFAIR FOR FATHER, SON

Ralph Burr and his son John wondered too, until last spring when they completed a ground school course at Virginia Western Community College and began flight training with Piedmont Aviation Service.

This is the first time two members of the same family have taken the class and flight training together, said Chris Speidel, the course instructor and chief flight instructor for Piedmont Aviation. The two also will receive their private pilot licenses only a few weeks apart.

"We signed up [for the class] not really with the full intention of continuing on with it, but John pushed me a little to start training," said Ralph, 54, manager of metal rolling system engineering at General Electric.

"And then he talked me into it," said his 23-year-old son, a design engineer in product development at GE.

"Now a whole flock of people at GE are looking forward to seeing the Roanoke Valley from the air," Ralph joked.

From the Virginia Western course, Ralph and John learned the "non-hands-on aspects" of flying - weather, instruments, maps, navigation and everything they needed to know to pass the Federal Aviation Administration's written test.

After about 70 hours of flight training, Ralph and John agree the biggest challenges were juggling work and flight training schedules - and becoming proficient at landing.

"You get spoiled with a long runway," John said.

Smooth landings may seem perfect to an onlooker, but aren't always good enough, he said. The FAA practical test, for example, requires a landing within 200 feet past a designated spot, but not before it. The designated spot, of course, is the imaginary beginning of a short runway.

Landing may have been difficult to learn, but with more than 70 hours of flight time, John passed the test with flying colors and received his private pilot's license on Jan. 24. Ralph will go on his check ride, the FAA practical examination, on Feb. 18.

The practical test starts with a short oral exam, then the student must prove his knowledge of navigation, radio work and emergency procedures and his ability to perform maneuvers, stall and recovery, land on short fields, soft fields and in a power-off situation.

To take the test, students are required to complete a minimum of 40 hours of flight training, including 20 solo hours, but a practical average is 70 hours, Speidel said.

"Learning was harder than I thought," Ralph said. "I thought I would beat the average time, but getting proficient takes time and practice."

It is not at all like learning to drive, John said. "It is just similar enough to cause problems.

"I've caught myself trying to turn on the turn signal or look in the rearview mirror."

"You don't have room for errors," Ralph pointed out. "You can't pull over to the side and think about what you're going to do."

In their travels to hone their skills, Ralph and John have found a few surprises. The small airports in Western Virginia are often in remote places and obscured by trees, making them difficult to find.

"At Smith Mountain Lake, the airport is hard to see until you are right on it. Now I look for a strange-shaped peninsula that's nearby," Ralph said.

The forests around the airfields lead to another problem. Pilots have to keep a sharp eye out for deer on the runways.

For Ralph, flying has become a way to relax. It is strictly a hobby, not transportation. Flying a small airplane for transportation is a hassle and would take the fun out of it, he said.

John thinks his father should buy a plane, but Ralph says $25,000 is too much for a hobby, especially since they have access to rental planes through Piedmont Aviation.

Flying is an expensive hobby anyway. The cost of flight training has been the only bad part of the whole experience, Ralph said.

But both say they chose good times to learn. "Most of my financial responsibility is past," Ralph said. "John is doing it before he has any real finances."

The past few months have been intense but enjoyable for both father and son, and their excitement over their new hobby has spread.

As they finish up their flight training, Ralph's oldest son is beginning ground school at Virginia Western.

"I think he was jealous," Ralph said with a grin.