UWG
News Item
Contact: University Communications & Marketing
Phone (678) 839-6464, FAX (678) 839-6645
ucm@westga.edu
Student pilot flies airshows
March 5, 2003
CARROLLTON, GA - The wide variety of students at the University of West Georgia spend their free time in very different ways. Some choose to be involved in campus organizations, others work, others practice sports, but there are a few with more unusual hobbies.
One of them is Jeremy King, a UWG student from Bremen, who defines himself as “plane nuts.” His passion for flying occupies his free time. His interest for planes began when he was very young.
“My
grandfather was a mechanic for Delta Airlines. When I was 12-years-old
he took me to an air show, which is when my passion for flying started,”
said King. Until he was able to drive, his mother would drop him off at
the airport everyday so he could help the pilots and mechanics work on
planes, gladly accepting a short flight around the airport as payment
for most jobs.
At the age of 15, he had the opportunity to fly aerobatics for the first time. “In exchange for washing his plane, Chris Smisson, airline pilot and retired Air Force pilot, gave me my first bit of aerobatic training,” said King.
King and Smisson created AirshowUnlimited.com. They attend approximately six or eight airshows each year. The company funds itself by selling advertising space on their planes. AirshowUnlimited.com flies two different planes: the Zlin 526F, made in Czechoslovakia; and the Russian built Technoavia SP-95. Both are rare in the United States.
King has many interesting memories about his hobby. He said, “A month ago I went to pick up a plane in New Jersey for a friend. Along the way I stopped and had the opportunity to meet pilots that I had talked with on the Internet for years.”
Right now, King is working on his mass communications degree at UWG because to be a commercial airline pilot, it is necessary to have a college degree.
“I enjoy meeting the kids that want to fly just like I did when I was younger. If they really want it, anybody can do it,” King said.
For more information, visit www.airshowunlimited.com.
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