Knoxville Flyers Newest Pilot

On Friday, May 6th, Club Member Bill Stone earned his Private Pilot's license. Bill always dreamed of flying airplanes and in 1982 he began working on his pilots license in a Cessna 150 at a small grass strip in South Carolina. Work demands forced him to suspend his training about two-thirds of the way through. Then all the demands of life - job, marriage, raising a family - kept his dream on hold.

Now Bill is older and the kids have left the nest. In February, Bill decided to try and finally finish his pilots license. He began looking at all the different options around the Knoxville area for taking lessons, and he discovered the Knoxville Flyers. Bill says "Knoxville Flyers have a great stable of planes and and very reasonable rates. They also have a great group of instructors. When I sat down and figured it all out, I found that if I flew once or twice a month, the savings over the going rate would pay my dues. I have flown a lot more than that. Plus, Downtown Island Airport is great to fly out of. The runway is nice and long and the FBO is awesome."

Bill worked hard on his training and completed his checkride last Friday. I asked Bill what's next? "I am going to enjoy flying the club planes just for fun, and then I'll start working on my instrument rating."

Congratulations Bill!