|
23 February 2007
 SAN
ANGELO, Texas -
San Angelo Composite
Squadron Cadet 1st Lieutenant (C/1st Lt.) James A. Nussey received his
pilot license on 25 January 2007. Cadet Nussey, a Junior at Angelo
State University and a member of the Air Force Reserve Officer Training
Corp (AFROTC) Detachment 847 is working towards his goal of flying for
the Air Force. Completing the requirements for a private pilot's
license puts him one step closer to a career as a pilot in the Air
Force.
C/1st Lt. Nussey joined the CAP in 2002 when he was 15 years old at the
encouragement of his father, CAP Major Gary A. Nussey. "My dad
researched the program, suggested that would be a good experience and
beneficial to my future." stated Cadet Nussey. After his orientation
flight, he decided he wanted to fly.
His first flying lesson was 11 November 2003 and he soloed approximately
11 hours later on 5 May 2004, finally completing his license on 25
January 2007. C/1st Lt. Nussey explained, "When I started flying, my
goal was to reach my first solo flight. It was a year later when I had
saved enough money to start flying again and I finished about a year
after that."
 Even
though C/1st Lt. Nussey spent over three and a half years
completing his goal of learning to fly, he didn't feel
it took any longer than other
students to complete. "I’m sure it would have taken much less
time if I had had the money on hand because as a college student
it is difficult to come up with enough money to finance flying,
along with many other expenses, without going into debt. If I
was to do it again, however, I think I would have probably tried
to get a loan because learning to fly is kind of like training
for a marathon, you can’t run once a month and expect to get
better. The other reason it took so long was because my
Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) had to volunteer his time
between work, often times he spent two or more weeks in other
parts of the country."
While he
encountered many difficulties, he felt the hardest part was memorizing
the information for his written and oral exam. "There were just so many
new things to learn and it almost seemed like a new language when I
started" said Cadet Nussey.
Story and Pictures Submitted by
2nd Lt.
Johanna O. Augustine |
TexasCadet Web Tools