Danny Krammer, 20, of Sycamore, had to fail a few times during his year of pilot training to learn what he really wanted in life.

Krammer, who started pilot courses at the DeKalb Taylor Municipal Airport, 3232 Pleasant St., with Fly America, had the opportunity to get exposure to the aviation field through the Kishwaukee Education Consortium. There, he went through a yearlong course of studying aviation and working on flight simulators before receiving his pilot license Sept. 16.

Krammer learned lessons about money and time management as well as managing frustration during his year of pilot training.

Frustration

An accident during Krammer’s second solo flight made him realize he had felt invincible before then.

“I came in for a landing for the first time on my second solo … when the weight came down I heard a big ol’ bam, and I thought ‘What the heck was that?’” Krammer said. “The plane just cockeyes to the right, and it just starts making a horrible noise and I thought for sure ‘I’m going in the grass’ … . I kept the plane on the runway with only 4 to 5 inches to spare … .”

Krammer was so shaken by the event he waited two or three weeks before he flew again, he said. Krammer had to overcome frustration with handling the course material required for the pilot’s license, he said.

When he started training he thought flying would be like operating a piece of machine, but he said being a pilot involved more than that.

“There’s more than just being good at everything,” Krammer said. “You have to fail at something to understand what you’re really good at.”

Vera Verbel, a captain on Boeing 777 for American Airlines who rents planes from Fly American, said she learns something every trip.

“The biggest thing is always learning about yourself and your abilities,” Verbel said.

Managing money, time

Dave Gillingham, one of Krammer’s instructors at Fly America, said money is a deterring factor for many hopeful pilots. Gillingham said he had his first flying lesson in 1960 when he was 14, but wasn’t able to start his training until 1992, when he was 46. “Money, stuff, life” got in the way for him, he said.

“The usual stuff for people who don’t get to follow their dream,” Gillingham said.

Krammer attends Kishwaukee College and said he worked 60 hours a week while going to school to pay for his lessons. The cost of going through pilot training can range from $8,000 to $10,000. Krammer paid $9,000 to $10,000 for his training.

“You [have to] get two jobs, and you drive a car that’s 20 years old and breaks all the time,” Krammer said.

Future

Learning to fly “was the most pleasurable, the most annoying, frustrating thing I has ever done in my entire life,” Krammer said. “… I’m so glad I did and are still doing it.”

Krammer said even though his initial goal of being a pilot has changed he thinks he will continue to work toward other flying licenses. Krammer feels time and money commitments will make it difficult for him to achieve his other goals, but he wants to obtain other licenses such as a commercial license and an Airline Transport Pilot license.