The aviation school

Late one afternoon, the Air Force people out at a top-secret air base were very surprised to see a small Cessna plane landing at their “hidden” camp. They immediately impounded the aircraft and hauled the pilot into an interrogation room.

The pilot’s story was that he took off from Las Vegas, got lost, and spotted the base just as he was about to run out of fuel. The Air Force started a full FBI background check on the pilot and held him overnight during the investigation.

By the next day, they were finally convinced the pilot really was lost and wasn’t a spy.  He went on his way.

The next day, to the total disbelief of the Air Force, the same Cessna showed up again. Once more, the MP’s surrounded the plane... Only this time there were two people in the plane.

The same pilot jumped out and said, “Do anything you want to me, but my wife is on the plane and you have to tell her where I was last night!”

Oh…oh…trouble.

Some people like to play golf. I like to read books and teach and then there are people who like to fly planes.

Some do it as a hobby. Others do it because there’s just something more than just the pure enjoyment of it. There’s a cause behind it. Such is the story I will be sharing with you today.

Adapted from “The 10 Gifts” as appearing in Bits and Pieces, Robin L. Silverman tells us this story. It’s an old material circa year 2000, but the story is so inspiring I have kept it for years. Let me share this with you.

Sometimes the most important thing you can offer to others is your enthusiasm, and John Odegard had loads of it. His passion for flying aircraft consumed his life.

He spent most of his early adulthood in the air, and one day got certified to pilot anything he could, including gliders, seaplanes, and jets.

In fact, he taught himself aerial acrobatics sitting at the controls of a crop duster while reading a manual that he’d strap on his leg! And in college, he leased planes in order to give flying lessons to fellow students.

Out of college, with business and accounting degrees in hand, Odegard stayed at his alma mater as a member of the faculty. But business was not at the forefront of his mind. It took him only two years to establish a department of aviation.

His mission? To provide the highest quality aerospace education at the lowest possible cost.

His obstacle? The department had no money and no planes.

But Odegard was undaunted.

He persuaded a local elderly man to invest his money in a couple of planes and donate them to the department. It didn’t take much coaxing, just a few private flying lessons for the gentleman, coupled with Odegard’s exuberance whenever he was in the air.

This same exuberance opened many other doors, too.

“He presented things that sounded totally impossible,” says one staffer, “and as we would…talk about why it couldn’t work, he kept insisting it would. And you know what? It always did. Sometimes it took several weeks, months, or even years, but eventually, everything he ever envisioned came to pass.”¹

The “little department” now boasts of more than 1,500 students from around the world, 14 flight simulators and 87 aircrafts and numerous awards.

Several years later, the department has been renamed to the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences.

As the president of the university said, “Some people give a lot of money to have a college named after them. John gave his life.”^[1]

What a beautiful story.

There’s a massive difference between giving lots of money to have your name put on a hospital or a university, and offering one’s life of service in a cause you believe in.

Sometimes the official and formal recognition will not be there, but it doesn’t matter at all.

You have made a difference.

(Attend “Stand Out for Outstanding Performance” on Sept. 9 at the Metro Tent inside Metro Walk along Ortigas Blvd. Be inspired and learn from speakers  Chinkee Tan, Bryan Kong and Karen Davila as they share principles on how to become great achievers. For further inquiries contact Inspire at 09158055910 or call 632-6310912 or 6310660 for details).