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Shamrock Aviation Offers Way to WingsBy Justin Saldo - August 05, 2008
iBerkshires Intern
NORTH ADAMS — Driving through the vastness and beauty of the Berkshires' scenery is a great experience, especially if you're 5,000 feet up.
"Flying is the most fun a person can have with their pants on — or off," said Liam Shirley, owner of Shamrock Aviation, last week at Harriman-West Airport. The company has been offering scenic flights, for $35 per person, and recently began offering flight training, so aspiring pilots have a chance to experience this kind of "fun" for themselves.
The flight company's general manager, Matthew Champney, 24, has been able to give interested parties the opportunity to learn how to fly since last month. Champney has been a licensed pilot since 2003 and became a licensed flight instructor on July 10.
He said he is more than willing to share his five years of experience with anyone who has the desire to take to the air.
The flight school has taken on four students but, according to Champney, "We can accommodate 10 to 12 students at a time based on scheduling and, if things go well, we will hire more staff members so we can take on more students."
 Matthew Champney shows off the controls of Shamrock Aviation's Cessna flight trainer. |
"What's nice about flight training is that you can go at your own pace” said Champney. “Weather permitting a student could get [the training] done in a month, but the average person takes three to four months.
"Once a student reaches the required 40 hours of flight experience, we can have a test instructor come over so they can try for their pilot's license."
But the cost of getting your wings doesn't come cheap, especially taking into account rising fuel prices: dual-instructor flight lessons at Shamrock Aviation are $115 an hour.
"Fuel and insurance are the two biggest costs an aviation company has to deal with," said Champney. "Plane fuel is $53.70 per gallon right now so we try to keep [our prices] fair for our students by offering a fixed surcharge per flight."
Champney and Shirley are training students in a 1972 Cessna 150, a two-seater prop aircraft which, according Champney, "is one of the most popular training airplanes ever."
Champney obtained both his pilot's and instructor's licenses from Bridgewater State College. For more information on flight lessons for scenic flights, call 413-663-3330. |
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