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Corder censures clarified
Sundeen files for
Dundee mayor,
Ragsdale will soon follow suit
A visible sign of
America's freedom from tyranny
| Flying
solo -- three times |
Newberg's Tyler Studevant solos in fixed wing, helicopter
and earns his driver's license on his 16th birthday |
By Schellene Clendenin, Newberg
Graphic reporter
E-mail Schellene at sclendenin@eaglenewspapers.com
|
The morning was clear and already beginning to warm with only a few
clouds in sight as the plane lifted from the ground. The gentle rumble of the Cessna 150
filled the hushed air as a group of people watched for a landing that did not happen at
first.
Tyler Sturdevant, 16, wasn’t ready to put the plane down just yet.
As the sound of the engine faded into the distance, Tyler’s dad, Dennis
Sturdevant, shook his head, a smile on his face. “I guess I’ll have to go out
and stop him,” he said. “I hope he comes back.”
Tyler first flew in a helicopter on May 20, 1988, the day he came home from
the hospital after his birth. He played with toy airplanes when he was small and he, and
his parents agree, Tyler couldn’t wait until he was old enough for his feet to reach
the pedals to take flight for the first time.
At 8, Tyler began flight lessons, paying for the $25,000 it would have cost
by manicuring the lawns and washing the airplanes at his parents airstrip. Tyler and
younger brother Mitchell, a student at Chehalem Valley Middle School, are the only kids
their mother, Nancy, knows who wish for school.
Tyler often travels with Dennis across the country to represent his
father’s business, Precision Flight Training Inc. Dennis says from early on his son
showed a maturity beyond his years. By age 12 Tyler had completed flight school.
“He eats, breathes and sleeps airplanes,” Dennis said. Dennis has
been a pilot since 1979 and figures he may have been an influence on his son’s
decision to fly.
So on May 6, the day he turned 16, Tyler, a student at Newberg High School,
already had his morning mapped out, solos in an airplane and a helicopter then a trip to
the Department of Motor Services to take his driver’s exam.
A small cluster of people waited for Tyler to return from his second circuit,
talking softly in the early morning air. A few moments later the small plane could be seen
again, readying for a landing. A nice job, no bouncing on the landing, said Corrine Bott,
flight trainer at the business on Dopp Road.
After the plane slowly taxied to a stop, Dennis met his son at the plane,
shaking his hand. “I wasn’t sure you were going to stop. Congratulations.”
Dennis then led Tyler to the Schweitzer 300, a small helicopter that would
help him perform his second solo flight of the day.
Even though Dennis is a licensed flight instructor on both airplane and
helicopter, since he is related to Tyler, he won’t be able to license him, instead,
the Federal Aviation Association (FAA) will send someone out on Tyler’s 17th birthday
to perform that duty.
Tyler walked slowly around the copter, doing a preflight check. But
after climbing into the Schweitzer it soon became apparent that the helicopter
wouldn’t cooperate — bad starter.
“Oh bummer,” Nancy groaned.
The day was not lost, however. Tyler moved to an adjacent helicopter and
again performed the preflight checks, making sure nothing was loose, the blades
weren’t separating, nothing was damaged and the helicopter was fully fueled. Things a
pilot does to ensure the craft is flyable, Bott said.
This time when he pushed the start bottom the engine fired to life, whining
as Tyler checked the RPMs. The trees nearby did not move as the craft warmed up, but when
Tyler changed the pitch to begin the lift the trees swayed wildly.
The craft lifted from the ground slowly, Dennis inside for the first trip to
help him with his flight plan. Tyler flew alone on the second go-round, beginning with a
rock solid take off.
As he waited for the temperature of the helicopter to cool before he turned
it off, a necessity since rapid temperature change is hard on the little crafts’
engine, Bott pointed out that Tyler had already completed the night-flying solo as well as
a cross country flight needed to get his license.
So far he’s flown more than 25 hours in a helicopter and 120 hours in
the plane, Tyler said after the applause had died down and his mother released him from a
hug.
At first he was nervous, he said. Especially in the helicopter where the
weight change of only one person on board necessitated a few adjustments.
But not for long. “It’s in my blood,” he said.
Tyler wants to charter planes in the future, fly for a firefighting crew and
run his family business.
As he walked away, preparing to take his drivers test, Tyler added he loves
to fly because he is able to control something that is not on the ground.
Tyler passed his driving exam with flying colors later that day. |
|
From May 12,
2004, Newberg Graphic
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