For most Brown students, the highest point they can hope to reach on a regular day is the 14th floor of the Sciences Library. But a small group of students has the opportunity to go thousands of feet higher.
The Brown Flying Club has been around for over 100 years. This semester, it hosted its first introductory flight day Oct. 30. Fourteen students and one professor drove to North Central State Airport in Pawtucket, where club members flew a small plane for 20 minutes with a licensed instructor. The students paid $30 each for the outing.
"I had the opportunity to try something I would never be able to do otherwise," said club member Ben Friedman '09.
Other club members agreed that the flying experience was exciting. "You look out on the wings and say, 'That thing is going to hold me in the air?'" said Andrew Lind '06.
Lind, a club member since February, was already an experienced pilot. He got his license over a year ago. According to co-presidents Zachary Drew '07 and Brian Haroldson '07, the club has a variety of members with different flying skills. Drew said that 10 percent of the club members are graduate students, in addition to the other members, who include undergraduates and one professor.
Last year, the Undergraduate Council of Students downgraded the club from Category III to Category II status. The club now receives only $90 for social funds per semester, a cutback that Haroldson said prevents it from advertising effectively to the Brown community. In addition, the club does not receive any money for flight instruction.
"The club has zero dollars for one of the most expensive hobbies," Lind said. According to Lind, it can cost anywhere between $4,000 and $5,000 to get a pilot's license because of the high costs of renting a plane and paying a flight instructor.
Another club member, Mat-thew Cannizzaro '08, said he is hoping to get his license but has been unable to put together the necessary funds. "$4,000 to $5,000 is a large enough sum that it is not easy for college students to get their license," he said.
The Flying Club also has to grapple with insurance issues. Haroldson said the club is not allowed to use University funding for in-flight instruction. "(Admin-istrators) don't want to be sued," Haroldson said.
Club member and Associate Professor of Physics Richard Gaitskell said he understands the University's "love-hate relationship with the Flying Club" and its hesitancy to support club activities.
Gaitskell, who has been flying for 12 years, decided to join after learning of the club a year ago from a graduate student. "On arriving at Brown it was always my intention to start flying again," he said. Flying Club has provided him with the opportunity to hone his old skills.
While the club used to have access to a private plane on loan to students, this arrangement ended in 2002. The loss of the plane was disappointing to the club's membership, and Haroldson said that when he joined in fall 2003, the club lacked enthusiasm and student support. One year later, Drew and Haroldson became co-presidents and tried to reinvigorate the club by increasing membership and introducing new programs. Last year, the Flying Club held a one-time ground school, where an instructor gave a training session about the technical aspects of flying.
Gaitskell said he is impressed with the club's leadership. While flying is usually a solo activity, he said he appreciates that the group allows students and faculty to come together to discuss a common interest.
Lind added that he enjoys just "sitting around and talking about flying."
In describing their flying experiences, club members agreed that it is unlike anything else. "It is something you have to experience to know if you want to do it," Drew said.
Lind flies every weekend and said that for him, flying is a way to relieve stress and have fun. "I really like seeing everything from a completely new perspective," he said.
Drew and Haroldson said they hope to reach out to more students this semester and make sure that the Brown community knows the group exists. Haroldson said he would like to increase female participation in the club, which is currently 80 percent male. To show support for women in aviation, the Flying Club is looking into hosting an on-campus event with a local chapter of the Ninety-Nines, an international organization of licensed women pilots.
The two co-presidents would also like to see the club join the Civil Air Patrol, which is a division of the United States Air Force that trains civilian pilots to assist in search-and-rescue missions. "It would be a good public service," Haroldson said. Next semester, the club plans to co-sponsor an aviation film weekend with the Brown Film Society.
"Flying has always been number one for me, and it is nice that the Flying Club set me up to do it," Lind said.
