Lansing - It’s a bird, or is it a plane?
It’s a single engine plane with a solo pilot.
Paul DeVore landed at Capital City Airport, 4100 Capital City Blvd. in DeWitt Township, on Monday afternoon in a stop on his tour flying around the country to raise money for aviation and training scholarships in West Virginia through Hart Field Coalition, Inc., a Morgantown, W.Va. group aimed at enhancing aviation education.
DeVore, the Hart Field Coalition’s president, will travel through 34 border states and Washington, D.C. Lansing will be his only stop in Michigan.
“He contacted us about organizing his stop here,” said Thomas Krashen, manager of the Safety & Services Section of the Airports Division of the Michigan Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Aeronautics. “We oversee aviation in the state of Michigan and aviation programs in the school systems.”
DeVore and his plane will cover more than 7,600 miles before he returns home. He already has 3,100 hours of experience in aviation, but this is his first attempt in circumnavigating the United States.
The pilot’s goal is to raise $600,000 during his flight that will sponsor 10 endowed aviation and training scholarships through the Greater Morgantown Community Trust.
The scholarships will be rewarded to young people pursuing careers in the field of aviation.
DeVore said there are already traditional programs for aviation such as the Civil Air Patrol and Young Eagles, but special aviation programs for young people are being created across the nation.
“He has a very important message to get across because general aviation is very important to the community,” said Robert Boyd, director of maintenance for the Capital Region Airport Authority. “ I hope he is successful in raising money for the scholarships.”
“I got involved to improve local aviation in West Virginia,” DeVore said.
“I am flying around the country to get publicity, trying to attract a lot of attention and get names of donors.
“General aviation needs more recognition because it affects all of our communities. There are all kinds of careers in aviation, not just pilots, but there is really a major industry for people to do airplane maintenance.”
The Aviation Technology Center at Lansing Community College has a two-year program.
Jeff Young, chief flight instructor at LCC, said any help for aviators is welcome.
“I think that what Dr. DeVore is doing is very helpful because aviation training is expensive,” Young said.
“A lot of students do not pursue this career because of the cost.”
Young said the two-year aviation program costs $32,000 for in-district students.
