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“I’ve owned my B-25J, ‘Panchito’ for 23 years, and over that time, we’ve had a tremendous amount of interest and interaction with the B-25 community,” Kelley explained. “I’m also an A&P I/A and have been deeply involved with its maintenance. I know how important it is for pilots to completely under- stand how everything works, so if they have an issue or failure, they are better equipped to deal with it right away. All that has led to the development of our B-25 flight training program.”
But, before we go too far, I must make it clear that the training that Kelley and this team offer in
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Panchito is nothing like other “learn to fly (insert warbird name)” programs you’ve come across. This is not a week- end warrior-type program. In Kelley’s well-earned opin- ion, sitting in the right seat and get- ting a few hours or so “stick time” does not make a quali- fied pilot. The B-25 Flight Training Pro- gram offered by the Delaware Aviation Museum Foundation is the opposite of that. This is an FAA- approved flight train-
ing curriculum that just happens to be wrapped around a “bucket list” type airplane.
“In the B-25 community, you have a lot of retired airline pilots, and the only ‘training’ they receive is OTJ in the airplane,” he said. “There is no formal aircraft or systems training. I know of pilots who have never even done a stall in the airplane or other maneuvers found in the B-25 training syllabus. So, we decided that a pro- gram like ours would be a very good thing for the community – real, for- mal, airline-style training in a B-25. We train to approved standards, and our
curriculum is carefully out- lined and detailed as to what is done when. Everyone trains to the same standards.”
The Delaware Aviation Museum Foundation’s B-25 flight training program was developed by its Director of Flight Training, Sabrina Kipp (a 20-year Captain with South- west), Calvin Peacock (a re- tired US Air Captain) and a team of experienced airline pi- lots and training professionals.
“We submitted our course to the FAA, and they commented that this is how training is sup- posed to be done,” he said. “We received an exemption to be able to provide f light training
for hire in a limited category aircraft – our B-25. We have that course, and we stick to it. Everyone trains the same.”
Kelley stated that while the course’s professionalism stands out to students, the real differentiator is the strict adherence to airline-style Cockpit Resource Management (CRM) processes and procedures.
“We use CRM in everything we do. The responsibilities go with the seat you are in. You need to understand what your seat is going to do in the event of a problem,” he explained. “If you go through our program and don’t use CRM during your check ride, you’ll get busted. We believe in the benefits wholeheartedly.”
Know Before You Go
If you’ve ever gone through a Flight- Safety-style training program, you’ll be familiar with the level of detail and professionalism the team has put into the B-25 program. And the teaching starts before you even head to Delaware. You can earn either a second-in-command (SIC) or pilot-in- command (PIC) rating and both start with the in-depth ground school.
Once your deposit for the tuition is paid, they send you a copy of the B-25J’s POH along with other infor- mation and documents to begin your pre-program study. There is a lot of in- formation you need to know, or at least know where to find, to be ready for ground school. And, yes, there’s a test.