European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 11, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 8 the stars and stripes wednesday september 11, 1985 flying is fun Nof just a of Tor Aero clubs 400 members by Dick  Bureau ram Stajn a. Germany for More than 400 people in Safe flying and learning to Fly is not merely a Job it s fun. They arc members of the command s four Aero clubs located at Ramstein and Spang Dahlum air bases in Germany at Torrejon a in Spain and Raf  in England. Gene silvers the chief of the consumer services Divi Sion of us Ait. Morale welfare and recreation said the clubs have 2\ Light aircraft available for people who want to get private pilots licenses and use Light aircraft for recreational Hying and Persona Iraq cd. That works Oul to about 20 people per aircraft he said last year we flew a total of about 7.koo hours or 340 hours per aircraft in hours per member. Air Force Aero club standards arc 25 members per aircraft and 500 hours flying Lime per aircraft each year. So there s plenty of Opportunity Tor our members to  silvers said 15 of the 21 aircraft Are owned by the command and were purchased for about $500,000 in 1983, when Safe decided to upgrade its Aero club program. Five of the remaining aircraft arc leased to the clubs by military members who own them and the sixth was purchased privately by the Ramstein club. Silvers explained that aircraft will be re placed beginning late next year to keep the Fleet equipped with late Model aircraft that have a Low num Ber of flying hours. Our bread and butter is people who arc trying to get their private licenses he said. And we want to pro vide them with the Best possible  Ramstein Aero club manager Allen Turner a Pilot since the age of 17, says the average person can com plete the requirements for a private License in about a year at a Cost of approximately $2,100. Ground school costs about si35 for books and classes Turner said. And. Although the Federal aviation administration Only requires 40 hours the aver age person needs about 55 hours of flying Lime to qualify for a License. We have several High school students and quite a few family members who Are working on their License requirements now he said. Ramstein s club the largest in Europe accounts for about half of both the members and aircraft in Safe clubs. Turner said. Sil cars said that although fees for aircraft rentals and flying instruction arc not Standard throughout the command they average about $.11 per hour for a two scat Trainer and $10 per hour for an instructor Pilot. "1 he fee Structure is Low enough that almost anyone who wants to can afford to Fly through the Aero clubs he said. Kiflay two percent of our members inv Are enlisted pcopli.1, 31 percent arc officers and 16 percent Are civilians. So it s not just an activity for he  flying these Light air planes is a great Way to sigh Sec in Europe and to meet some really inn people said Leo smothers a member of ram it in s Aero club for five years who Calls himself Man Airport  i be taken a lot of friends  on inc Rhine and i la take an occasional weekend run to England to catch a Friday night play in  smothers said flying in Europe bears Little resemblance to recreational Hying in the states. He said one of the major differences is thai the degree of bureaucratic involvement is much greater Here. You have to abide by Faa rules. Air Force rules and German rules he said. And you have to learn to look out for f-4s. It takes a much sharper Eye to Fly Here because of the congested airspace Turner said that although airspace in the Central re Gion is crowded learning to Fly in Germany is not much different than anywhere else. "1 Don t believe it s any More dangerous to Fly Light aircraft Here than in is in the slates he said because of the High concentration of commercial traffic in some areas such As the approaches to Frankfurt students arc not allowed to Fly there. And the presence of so Many military aircraft puts some Altitude and area restrictions on we Csc we can Fly but we Haven t had any problems in the three years i be been  silvers said there have been no accidents involving Aero club aircraft in Safe in the past two years. The air Force Aero club Accident rate is the lowest among any entity in general aviation Silver said. We Haven t had a fatality in More than three years. The last incident we had was about two years ago. And that was due to a mechanical failure. The throttle linkage came off in the Pilot s hand. Fortuna Cly in was an experienced instructor Pilot and he brought the aircraft in. He overshot his intended Landing spot and sheared off the Landing gear but there were no  Turner said inc High concentration of air traffic in Europe does t hinder Aero club members who want to Sas photo by Dave Dulo student Pilot Dan Childs foreground checks the instruments while instructor Fintan i us watches. Make Cross country flights. Most the flying our students do is in the local area although they Are required to make one five hour flight before getting their licenses. However once they arc licensed Many pilots take these aircraft All  Europe. We have people who will Fly Down to Strasbourg trance for lunch he said. And quite a few of our members arc taking the larger aircraft to go on vacations. It s getting really popular to rent an air plane to fit to England. Even with our smaller planes you can make London in Between three and four hours for not & lot More Money than in would Cost you to drive or take the train and make the ferry crossing at the Channel and you Knock about 12 hours off the  Turner said members May rent aircraft for vacations at Rales that make the trips comparatively inexpensive. If you take an air plane out for a Long weekend you re not charged the hourly rate for 4k or 72 hours he said. You arc charged for the equivalent of a certain number of hours of Hying Lime each Day regardless of whether it moves or not. But if you Fly to Spain and the air plane sits for two or three Days you still make out pretty  in addition to purely recreational flying silvers said club members May earn advanced ratings for instrument Multi engine and commercial flying. Small aircraft could have military uses too by Dick Hodgson Kaiserslautern Bureau  besides enabling people to earn private pilots licenses and enjoy recreational lying. Usage s Aero clubs serve what command officials say May be a More important function. Maj. John Richards chief of Safe s War plans Branch said plans Are being made to use inc aircraft assigned to the four Aero clubs in the command to Fly wartime missions. We have been looking at the possibility of using these aircraft in wartime for about six  Richards said. And we Hope to have some of their potential uses worked out operationally by the end of the  the Aero  aircraft could be used in helping with air base defense. Richards said. They could also act As couriers ferrying people or equipment from one place to another. The Small propeller driven aircraft could be used to Survey damage to runways and taxiways after an attack and to help patrol areas near air bases for ground intruders lie Faid. Of course whatever role a commander chooses to use them for is up to him he said. But in general terms they could be used for delivery of a number of things to augment the roles of i acc i Sand c-23s." Gene silvers chief of the consumer services division of morale welfare and recreation said the Aero club aircraft arc being used for Mission related flights at several bases now. Although our primary purpose for Childs and Fahy plot a Short Cross country flight Sas Cholo by Dave Didiot inc Ramstein Aero club. Them is recreational they certainly provide an additional asset for the operational people when the need arises he said. Silvers said Many Aero club members Fly the Light aircraft when they arc going on temporary duty assignments. If the Cost of renting one of the club s air planes compares favourably with the commercial airline charge to a particular destination or if there is a significant Lime saving by flying directly from Here a member can be reimbursed for his  he said. And in Many cases. This kind of travel is More beneficial to the  before the addition of the c-23a Sherpa to Safe s inventory. Silvers said there was some increased interest in using Aero club aircraft for transportation of aircrew members and Mission essential cargo. Aero club aircraft can also be used for search and Rescue operations Aerial photography and assistance in air base defense exercises. Silvers said. Allen Turner manager of Ramstein s Aero club said his members and aircraft have participated in several base level exercises in recent years. We have a contract with the Wing Here and we Fly in exercises about once a Quarter he said. Most of our flights arc what arc called eyeglass missions we Check for fires or Airfield damage and report Back what needs to be repaired. And we can patrol the immediate area of he base looking for potential  Turner said the club s aircraft and members have also been used to add realism to other types of exercises. We flew a russian defector exercise where one of our members who works in intelligence flew out a few Miles East of Here and called the Tower he said. He told them in russian that he wanted to defect lie would t listen to their instructions since he supposedly could t understand English and they had to talk him in the Best they could. I think it was a lot belter test for them than of a handing someone a card telling them what the scenario