Andrew Allison spent his early years watching airplanes come and go at the Atlanta airport. At age 7 his family moved out to the country, but still under the flight path for Hartsfield. The simple farm life left time for a boy to dream about technology and watch jets fly over his head. In the mid 1980’s he started at Auburn University as a Professional Flight major. Somewhere along the line he switched into Aviation Management and graduated, but did not finish his Private pilot certificate.

The love of flying stayed with Andrew over the years and when he found the right piece of property out in the country he bought it. Then he bought the house across from it. Then he bought a Piper Aztec and a Pelican (experimental, single-engine, two-seater). Then he bought a pre-owned control tower (and hauled it back on a big truck). Then he bought a pre-owned rotating beacon and tower. Finally he bought a set of pre-owned lights. Andrew is now set to have the best decked out grass strip in the Southeast.

There was only one more thing he needed to do: get a certificate to fly his airplanes. Although he’d gone to three flight schools, he had not completed the training requirements to take the check ride. He’d only accumulated over 100 hours and a bunch of bad experiences. His professional pilot friends told him to come to American Flyers if he wanted accelerated training and a syllabus. When school director, Clint White, told him he’d be done in two to three weeks, Andrew was unbelieving. When he was done in two to three weeks, he was astonished and very glad he came. “Don’t let feeling overwhelmed defeat your goal,” said Andrew. “No matter what obstacles come before you, don’t let it stand in the way of your dream.”

Andrew wants to compliment Clint, Shane and Melissa for the awesome job they did and all the encouragement they offered. “They kept me engaged. They weren’t pushy, but they didn’t let me get sidetracked. Shane went above and beyond what any instructor would be expected to do. On the day of my check ride, I left the lights on in my truck. He stayed with me until we got it going again. And that was after he bought me lunch!”