Stephen's Flying Adventures
 Like most pilots, Stephen has been fascinated with airplanes since he was a little boy. He begged his mother to take him to the local airport (Albany, NY) where he could put his ear on the hood of his mother’s car and “hear” the planes taking off. That’s when God first planted a seed in his heart. This seed eventually sprouted into a full fledged dream that burned brighter with each passing year until he finally started flight training in 2000.
Stephen attacked flight training with fierce enthusiasm and dedication, never letting go of the vision of the examiner thrusting out his hand and saying, “Congratulations!!”
2000/2001: After years of dreaming about flying the skies, he took action and began flight training in March 2000. A short time after that, The Detroit Free Press interviewed Stephen and Jason Barton, his first flight instructor at the New Haven Flight School (now closed). Stephen went on to finish his private pilot training with Don Solms, a certified flight instructor with over 12,000 hours and an Airline Transport Pilot rating (ATP) at Troy Oakland Airport (7D2). A year later, one day short of his birthday, he passed his checkride and became a certified private pilot on May 18, 2001. Shortly thereafter, The Oakland Press ran a front-page article about this extraordinary accomplishment.
Big on rewarding himself for a job well done, Stephen flew himself to Kansas for the annual Deaf Pilot's Association fly-in (June 17-25, 2001). It was at this event he was given an opportunity to meet and bond with other deaf pilots for the very first time. Up to that point, Stephen was the only deaf pilot in Michigan and often wondered what it would be like to be in a room full of them. Well, he sure got an experience of a lifetime! They all had a great time getting to know one another, swapped “war stories,” flew to various destinations for pre-planned tours, cookouts and participated in spot landing contests.
2002: A year and a half later (December 2002), he rented a Piper Cherokee from Berz Macomb Airport (now closed) and flew to his hometown in New York State for the Christmas holidays. It represented a triumphal dream come true because his parents once told him he would never be able to fly an airplane. The 4 1/2-hour flight took him through Canada, Buffalo, Central New York and finally Schenectady. Upon arrival, he was shocked to see a group of reporters waiting for him. They were eager to know how someone with a hearing disability could fly an airplane. Stephen later learned his parents had tipped off the press. It was their way of saying, "Sorry we didn't believe in you before but we're proud of what you've accomplished and want the world to know about it."
2003: On July 23, 2003, Stephen earned a commercial pilot’s license thereby becoming the first deaf person to do so in Michigan. As a result of this, he was profiled in The Oakland Press and the Macomb Daily newspapers.
His Aviation Dreams
The next step is to earn an instrument rating. This is a step up the aviation hierarchy where an instrument rated pilot can fly in the clouds, totally obscuring forward visibility (i.e. IFR environment). At this time, FAA regulations prohibit deaf pilots from becoming instrument rated because of their inability to maintain two-way radio communications with air traffic controllers.
2004: Stephen’s faith in the unknown is paying off in spades! On
August 3, 2004, the FAA in Washington sent him an email giving him the green
light to pursue his dreams of earning an instrument rating!
2004 UPDATE: Thanks to the email from the FAA, he began instrument training in September with a number of different instructors at different flight schools.
His flight instructors not only have to teach him how to fly solely by reference to the instruments but also assist with the radios (by passing him notes while he uses a view restricting device to concentrate flying solely by reference to the instruments).
2005: In October 2005, American Winds Flight Academy (Akron Fulton International Airport, AKR) in Akron, OH offered to sponsor his instrument flight training. Once again, Stephen packed all his belongings and moved to Akron, OH to continue and complete his instrument flight training. Stephen’s been incredibly busy learning how to master the art of controlling the airplane like maintaining a certain altitude, a specific heading, or climbing, descending and flying straight and level without being able to see outside! Imagine breaking out of the clouds and seeing the airport right in front of you!
2006: It finally happened! Aviation history was made on February 24, 2006 when the FAA gave Hopson an instrument rating. His instrument rating requires that he flies with a qualified copilot to handle the radios for him.
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