Flight Profile
From its inception Columbia Aviation Association considered education and safety as essential elements of flying. Training has always been an important part of CAA and delivered to members through various programs and activities. It was formalized in 1968 as the Flight Profile Program providing members with the opportunity to get an Annual Flight Review.
Each year Flight Profile allows CAA members to brush up their aeronautical knowledge and flying skills through three sessions of ground school and a flight with a CFI. This is all sponsored by CAA with no additional cost to the member.
Ground school sessions are conducted as three Thursday night dinner programs usually during April followed by a one-hour flight check held on a Friday and Saturday in May from the CAA clubhouse on Aurora State Airport. Member CFI’s contribute their time to fly with members, evaluate their skills and share their knowledge and experience.
The following is a description of Flight Profile written by Dr. Guy Gorrell, 1974 President of the then Columbia Aviation Country Club:
The FLIGHT PROFILE, born in 1968 in the busy brains of Professors Doug Black and Tom Taylor, was an attempt to make an annual flight review so much fun that no member would want to miss it.
The FLIGHT PROFILE is essentially an annual refresher course not unlike the annual requirement for all Air Force pilots and navigators – but sugar coated. Professional pilots and ground school instructors, under the directions of Doug Black’s successors acting as “professor”, conduct ground school each Thursday night for three weeks for both VFR and IFR pilots. Then pilots who enter the program are scheduled for a brief quiz and check flight on the Friday and Saturday of the event, usually in May or June. A dozen or more local flight instructors donate their services for the event.
Until 1987 FLIGHT PROFILE winners were chosen in various categories based on their performance and instructor evaluations. After careful consideration, it was decided that everyone won by participating in the worthwhile event. Therefore, beginning with FLIGHT PROFILE 1987, all “Flight Profilers” are recognized for their participation in this important safety program that speaks for their and CAA’s dedication to general aviation and the furtherance of aviation safety.
FLIGHT PROFILE can usually be used to meet the FAA requirements for your flight review. Check with the FLIGHT PROFILE chairman for more information.