Aloft

Dartmouth looks different from different perspectives, we found out upon taking a vertical look down from 1,500 feet. It was a balmy Sunday morning in January, with no snow underfoot, and so instead of taking to the slopes, we took to the air with Chris Browne '80, vice president of the Dartmouth Flying Club. The club keeps a Cessna 150 (which members can rent for $15 an hour) at the Lebanon Airport. Anyone in the Dartmouth community students, professors, staff, and people at the associated graduate schools can join the club and learn to fly. Browne figures it cost him $1,200 to earn his license a bargain compared to what it might have cost elsewhere. To keep in practice, he likes to take the plane up at least once a week.

As he ran through the pre-flight check, Browne explained the mechanics of the two-seater and pointed out that in winter the systems must be checked for frost. Once we were in the air he handed over the controls. We soared over the Green, over Occom Pond, past the golf course, and headed north toward the barren Skiway. Browne said that in order to get his license he spent 30 hours flying with an instructor and 20 hours flying solo, in addition to passing the Federal Aviation Administration's written exam. It took ten months, but Browne said the time and money were well spent. "The whole exconfidence it gives you a sense of personal achievement."

Blair Watson, semi-retired director of Dartmouth College Films and faculty adviser to the club, agrees. A retired Army colonel, Watson learned to fly under a New Deal program at the University of New Hampshire ("when every red-blooded American kid wanted to fly") and later flew bombers in World War II. He still logs hours with the Lebanon squadron of the Civil Air Patrol. "When you're flying," he noted, "you're up there all alone and there is something you're in control of. Mastery of machine is mastery of yourself."

The club's machine is well maintained and undergoes regular inspections, although how frequently the plane is used depends on the season. During the summer, club members do quite a bit of sightseeing with it. Last fall, Watson and a film student shot aerial footage of freshman trips. A number of Dartmouth- trained pilots have graduated to commercial and military flying careers, and Browne is considering flying for the Navy. And Watson? He's trying something new he wants to earn a soaring license this spring.