Fresh flight for the Valley

Hovering hundreds of feet above green farm fields in an oversized eggbeater, Mark Huntley said he’s ready to bring whirlybirds back to the Shenandoah Valley.

In 2005, the Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport in Weyers Cave lost its only helicopter flight instructor. But the airport commission last month approved leases for two new instruction companies – one for Huntley’s Orion Aviation helicopter lessons.

Huntley, a Ruckersville man, flies a Switzer 300CB. He could attach doors to the two-seater chopper, but prefers to feel the wind.

Flying over subdivisions, country roads and meandering (sometimes swimming) cattle, Huntley’s view rivals that of birds.

Far below, the helicopter shadow trails behind, rippling over bushy trees and cornfield stretches.

“It’s a great, strong little helicopter,” he said. “It’s great for what I’m about to do.”

Huntley said he and partners have been giving lessons in Charlottesville for years, but recently looked to expand.

“There was a much larger interest for helicopters in the Shenandoah Valley a few years ago,” he said. “What I’m hoping to do is recultivate that interest and maybe it’ll spill into Charlottesville.”

Sharing the same hanger and plans, Tom Osinkosky said he opened his airplane flight training business at the Weyers Cave airport in hopes of finding a pocket of demand.

“The economy really kicked the pants out of everything,” Osinkosky said. “Even in Charlottesville things are just soft with flight training.”

At about $90 per hour, Osinkosky’s lessons are about $45 to $50 less than other companies, he said.

An air traffic controller with experience in Minneapolis and Charlottesville, Osinkosky’s new office has simple brown walls, an old green chalkboard and little else. A desk and some paper would do it, he said.

But the classroom is thousands of feet up, where he helps beginner pilots earn their wings.

His methodology for a person’s first flight is simple: let them do the flying.

High above the coral reef of developing neighborhoods and farmland, Osinkosky drapes his arms across the cockpit seats – no hands on the controls. Bumps of turbulence shake the plane but not the instructor.

It’s easy to stoke interest in flying, he said.

“If you’re a prospective student you’ll walk away from here thinking, ‘Hey, maybe I can do that,’ ” he said. “I just enjoy working with the people. It’s always a good feeling when somebody learns how to land an airplane.”

Dressed in a modest brown T-shirt, khaki shorts and weathered gym shoes, Osinkosky said his business is less about show and more about developing the skills of students. Flying isn’t for everyone, he said, but most enjoy the experience.

“Flying: You don’t sell it,” he said. “If people want to learn how to fly, we can teach them.”

Learning the controls of an airplane and a helicopter differ. The helicopter depends on a person’s center of gravity and an ability to think through three things at the same time. Regardless of its seeming difficulty, it becomes second nature, pilots said.

“Most people are nervous about helicopters because the general consensus is people think helicopters are unsafe,” Huntley said. “But it’s an overall exciting experience and most people are generally ecstatic when they get out of the aircraft.”

The enthusiasm people feel when they learn to fly is one of the reasons why airport board Chairman Gerald Garber said he likes the idea of the two new businesses on the property.

“There’s always some new crop of people who want to learn to fly,” Garber said.

Airport spokesman Greg Campbell agreed.

“It works on both fronts,” Campbell said. “With revenue and expanding what’s here in the airport.”

Though they won’t generate the majority of revenue the airport sees in fuel sales, Campbell said the training companies do contribute to the $1 million budget in annual projected fuel sales.

Waiting for his flight class to begin, Richard O’Shea, of Fort Defiance, said he’s working toward his private flyer’s license.

O’Shea said he started pursuing his flying license, in part, because of his parents.

“We have a Piper 235 and those are considered a high performance plane,” O’Shea said.

With his exam only a few weeks away, O’Shea said he needs to study for his least favorite part: the written portion. He came to Osinkosky for guidance.

“I’m trying to make it more affordable to learn how to fly,” Osinkosky said. “I’m just trying to put the same old kind of twist we had a number of years ago.”

Osinkosky said he flies, on average, once a day. Taxiing down the runway, he’ll stop to run through his final checklist. Then he pulls into position.

Propeller. Throttle. Hold on tight.

Approaching the end of the runway, hurtling at about 90 mph, Osinkosky grips his controls.

“Pull up, just slightly,” he said.

The nose lifts, leaving the ground and everyday things far below.

Interested in flying?

• Contact Mark Huntley with Orion Aviation for helicopter training at (434) 989-3589.

• Contact Tom Osinkosky with Blue Ridge Aviation for airplane training at (540) 569-0077.