Photo by Ken Odor
Linsey Kornblau will fly her Cessna cross country and back in August to raise money for the Massey Cancer Center.  The entire route will cover about 4,400 miles. The pilots will travel at an altitude of 8,000 to 9,000 feet during the trip, said Benwell.

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Linsey Korblau got the flying bug on a “Discovery Flight” three years ago at Chesterfield Airport.

“I got hooked,” she said, in an interview at Hanover Airport, where she was meeting her instructor James Benwell for a flying lesson.

Korblau got her private pilot’s license in February 2010.

She is now working on becoming instrument-rated, which would be an endorsement of her ability to fly using instruments without a visual reference to the ground.

On August 4, Korblau and Benwell will take to the air in a four-seat Cessna 182 Skylane single-engine craft on a trip to the West Coast and back.

It’s a way to fulfill two goals: Flying across the country and raising money for the Massey Cancer Center.

Kornblau has already collected $64,000 in pledges from fans of her “Flight for Massey.” Her goal is to raise a cool $100,000.

Donors are invited to a launch part at Hanover Airport to cheer Kornblau on when she and Benwell take off.

Their itinerary on the way to the left coast will take the fliers to Atlanta, New Orleans, Austin, Albuquerque and Phoenix.

Then they will land in Los Angeles.

The entire route will cover about 4,400 miles. They will travel at an altitude of 8,000 to 9,000 feet during the trip, said Benwell.

The plane can do 160 mph with a range of more than 900 miles between stops to refuel.

Along the way Kornblau will blog about her experiences.

She will arrive back at the Hanover Airport, where she keeps her plane, around August 10.

On August 14, Kornblau’s supporters are invited to a party at The Place at Innsbrook at 6 p.m.

Needless to say, Kornblau is excited.

“It’s going to be awesome seeing all those places,” she said.

“It’s a cool thing to do,” said Benwell. “Hopefully we’ll be able to fly over the Grand Canyon.”

Benwell said he was just “tagging along” because Kornblau doesn’t have her instrument rating yet.

With her current pilot’s license she is only cleared to fly in good weather, so any bad weather could ground her during the trip.

Benwell will be in the co-pilot’s seat, “but she’ll do the flying,” he said.

Kornblau, whose father also flies and who encouraged her to take it up, said her first flight in 2007 was what won her over.

“As soon as you fly you lose all fear,” she said.

Not that it appears she has much fear. She’s planning on skydiving when she turns 18, she said. She likes roller coasters too, by the way.

After she graduates high school, Kornblau said she hopes to attend Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach and eventually become a corporate pilot.

“It’s what I want to do as my profession,” said the young pilot.

To keep up with Linsey’s Flight for Massey or to make a donation, visit her site on website at http://www.flightformassey.org.