Brent Furrow sees the campus from a different view.

Furrow, a senior speech communication major, has been flying for four years.

He went to the University of Illinois for two years to complete the aviation program, but plans on becoming an airline pilot after graduating from Eastern.

Airlines really don’t care what major is completed, as long as the graduate has completed four years, he said. Furrow said he will always have speech communication for business of some sort to fall back on.

Furrow started working on his private pilot’s license in ’99, his senior year of high school, at the Decatur airport and received his commercial pilot license last summer.

He is also in the International National Guard, but does not fly for them.

Furrow is the only member of his family to fly. His family did a lot of traveling, which sparked his interest. Most of Furrow’s relatives live in Nebraska and the family would take trips back.

Furrow has also flown to South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

He said he likes traveling and flying allows him to do so.

The best part is “being able able to take off and fly,” Furrow said. He enjoys traveling to a far off city for lunch and taking friends and family places.

Furrow flies a couple times a month, especially since it is important for pilots to keep current, Furrow said. There are a certain number of landings and takeoffs a pilot must complete.

Furrow has so far accumulated 350 flight hours.

Furrow said the big thing to get into flying for airlines is to increase flight hours, having at least 1000-1200 hours accumulated before regional airlines or charter companies will hire you.

To do so, Furrow gives flight instructions and flies pipe line patrols, which fly over underground pipe lines to make sure the lines are clear and without obstruction.

Furrow usually flies single engine planes, such as the Cessna 172 SP, sometimes considered a training plane.

The plane has 180 horsepower. Furrow mostly flies Cessna’s or single-engine planes, but the biggest plane he has flown was a Beach Travelair, which has a twin engine.

The Cessna 172 SP is a $220,000 airplane which seats four people including the pilot and can travel up to 161 knots, which is 185 mph. Furrow said he usually flies at about 150 knots, which is 170 mph.

Furrow flies at Decatur and Central Illinois Air at Coles County Memorial Airports.

To fly Central Illinois Air at Coles County Memorial Airport, a pilot needs to have a license and get checked out with an instructor before flying.

Parents fly in to the airport to visit or drop off students and flight training

courses are offered there through Central Air, said Gary Warner, a lineman for Central Air.

Federal regulations include a physical examination and there are restricted areas, but there are not any restricted locations in the Charleston area.

Furrow said the reason not many people fly is the cost involved.

It costs $4,000-$5,000 just to complete a private pilot’s license, plus costs of rental and flight time to maintain flight hours.

Furrow said he flies alone sometimes or with family or friends depending on who is available to fly.

When Furrow first began to fly, he took a solo flight and the door opened. The proper procedure is to slow the plane to 87 knots, pull the door shut and latch it. The door would not shut, so being a new pilot, Furrow pulled into the nearest airport to close it.

“I’ve never hit a bird, but have come pretty close,” Furrow said.

Campus Editor Jennifer Chiariello can be reached at [email protected]