From the San Mateo Daily Journal, August 14, 2017
Aspiring pilots get view from the top
San Carlos Flight Center creates community for aviation enthusiasts of all stripes
By Anna Schuessler Daily Journal staff Aug 14, 2017
Michelle Karpishin stands in front of a plane at the San Carlos Flight Center where she took part in the Upwind Summer Scholarship Program that helped her become a pilot at a young age.
Growing up with a network of planes crossing through the skies above the San Francisco International Airport, San Mateo resident Michelle Karpishin caught the bug for airplanes at an early age and hasn’t been able to shake it since.
Her curiosity led her through years of camp at San Carlos’ Hiller Aviation Museum, and eventually through the doors of the San Carlos Flight Center at 655 Skyway Road to take to the skies herself when she was a rising senior in high school. With more than 400 member pilots, many in training to fly small aircraft, the flight center based at the San Carlos Airport has offered pilots of a variety of backgrounds an opportunity to take to the skies since 2012.
Drawn by the view from above she’d seen as a passenger, Karpishin was driven to keep exploring the world below on her own terms, despite no prior experience with piloting planes.
“I wanted to be able to control where I went, what I saw and do it on my own,†she said.
Now a sophomore studying aerospace engineering at the University of Southern California, Karpishin has enjoyed seeing new waves of young pilots come through the Upwind Summer Scholarship Program, which has propelled her from a plane enthusiast to a solo pilot in just weeks two summers ago. Run by the center, where Karpishin has worked for the past two summers since she was a scholarship recipient, the program is designed to equip four high school students with the tools they need to obtain their pilot’s license, which allows them to fly planes without an instructor.
With eight hours of training five days a week, the four high school students selected to participate in the nine-week program spend a significant amount of time in a classroom learning to read weather patterns, understand airspace regulations and their way around the many pieces of equipment pilots use to navigate.
But even with all those facts to think about, when it comes down to taking the controls into her own hands, the view is still what stands out the most for Karpishin.
“It’s a really big deal,†she said, of the first time flying a plane. “The view is what gets me every time.â€
Karpishin said exploring the Bay Area from above since she received her pilot’s license at the end of the program has been one of the thrills of testing her experience with planes. Short trips to Half Moon Bay Airport, just 16 minutes away from the San Carlos Airport, and the Palo Alto Airport have changed her perspective on the region’s geography.
Sharing the experience of learning how to fly with other students similarly in search of hard-to-find aerial views has been one of the best discoveries for Karpishin as she’s explored the airport community.
“Being with three other kids doing the scholarship, we work together so much … we really developed a bond,†she said.
Though she’s been able to apply the teamwork skills she’s learned from her peers to schoolwork, swapping stories about take-offs and landings with the friends she met through the scholarship program has opened her eyes to the congenial nature of the community of pilots gathered at the San Carlos Airport by the center.
“It’s definitely very welcoming,†she said, of the pilots she’s met through barbecues and safety seminars the center hosts. “You can ask anyone questions, they’re happy to help.â€
Dan Dyer, the center’s owner and founder, said creating opportunities for pilots to share stories serves the dual purpose of fostering community and increasing safety in the air. With 13 years of experience as a flight instructor, Dyer has found having pilots with a wide array of backgrounds and experiences has helped the collective knowledge of the community grow.
“Flying is a very solitary profession,†he said. “It’s a lot of individual responsibility. But on the ground, all those individuals just want to tell stories.â€
Dyer said getting young pilots exposure to flight lessons early on, when students can learn quickly and build on their experience, like Karpishin did through the scholarship program, also enhances the safety of the community.
Through a marketing project Karpishin worked on for the center this summer, she got a chance to speak with the women in aviation gathered around the San Carlos Airport. With the song “A Piece of Sky†as the backdrop for a video she created featuring scenes of Bay Area women in aviation, the video illustrates the experience of women who have pursued their dreams to fly despite being underrepresented in the field. Karpishin was encouraged by the response she received from the some 50 women she contacted, saying many were eager to participate.
“You don’t always talk to that many women, so this kind of brought them together,†she said. “I got to see how excited they were to share that experience with other people through the video.â€
Visit youtube.com/watch?v=r51ahIP0_yw&feature=youtu.be to see Karpishin’s “It All Began — A Celebration of Women in Aviation†video.
Visit the San Carlos Flight Center at 655 Skyway Road, Suite 215 or visit sancarlosflight.com for more information.
(650) 344-5200 ext. 102
