



Helicopter flight instructor Charles Barabas is speaking to his extremely nervous student through the headsets in the two-seat Hughes 300 aircraft. The helicopter is owned by Omniflight Helicopters Inc., located at Midway Airport, and Barabas and his student have just been cleared for takeoff.

This will be a routine one-hour introductory flight--one of many conducted annually by the flight school and charter service--designed to initiate potential helicopter pilots and occasionally journalists to the fundamentals of flying this type of aircraft. But to this student on this day the experience is anything but routine.

''Okay, now I want you to take hold of the cyclic (control stick),''

Barabas is saying, as the helicopter ascends from the airstrip and into a clear blue Chicago sky. For the purposes of instruction, the aircraft has been equipped with dual controls and Barabas is urging his student, seated next to him, to get a feel for flying the aircraft. As part of the introductory lesson, under the supervision of a certified flight instructor like Barabas, the student actually will fly the helicopter.

''Come on now, I want to feel you on the cyclic, grip it firmly,'' he is saying as the aircraft turns and heads south of the airport climbing to an altitude of 1,200 feet and speeds close to 100 miles an hour. ''Okay, good, real good, just keep it level and keep your eyes on the horizon. You`re doing real good; you`re now flying the helicopter by yourself. How does that feel?'' No response.

''Well, maybe,'' Barabas suggests, reaching over and opening a small window next to his student, ''it would help if you started breathing.''

Ah, such is the thrill of flight. The sensation of flying through the air has for centuries captured the imaginations of us mere mortals, and the Chicago area has long been a mecca for student pilots seeking the opportunity to explore the wild blue yonder in an assortment of fancy flying machines. The area abounds with flying schools, aircraft and qualified instructors.

Around the hangar at Omniflight Helicopters (585-9800), there is a saying: ''To fly is heavenly, but to hover is divine.'' In other words, pilots tend to have preferences when choosing their method of getting airborne. For some, like Barabas, the preference becomes an addiction. ''I`ve flown a lot of different types of aircraft,'' he says, ''but there is nothing like the sensation of flying a helicopter. I can land this thing almost anywhere, and I can hover, which you can`t do in an airplane.''

So the first step for anyone wishing to learn to fly is to select a type of aircraft. Then, gripping yourself firmly by the seat of the pants, sign up for a lesson. And be sure to bring your checkbook. Flying ain`t cheap.

Learning how to fly a helicopter is on the high end of the flight instruction scale. The introductory lesson at Omniflight costs $100. Flying time costs $185 an hour, and 40 hours of air time is necessary to receive a helicopter pilot`s license. An additional $200 is necessary for ground-school instruction and materials. In total, the cost of becoming a licensed helicopter pilot is about $7,600. But after only 11 hours of flying experience, in addition to ground-school training, you may qualify for a solo license, which allows you to fly the helicopter without an instructor (and without any passengers).

''We realize that most people work for a living and are busy,'' says Mike Eastlee, a veteran Omniflight pilot and instructor. ''So we try to schedule their time with us like they are going to the doctor. It`s a one-on-one thing. They make an appointment and then come in. We try to have a helicopter and an instructor waiting for them.''

A less expensive mode of air transportation is the single-engine airplane. Joel Arnold, manager of Frankfort Aviation Service Inc. at the Frankfort Airport on Center Road in Frankfort (815-469-2311), offers introductory flights in a two-seat, Cessna 152 trainer for $20. ''The potential student will actually fly the aircraft,'' Arnold says. ''They go through a pre-flight lesson to acquaint themselves with the aircraft and then we go up in the air.

''The first thing people who are interested in learning to fly ask themselves is, `Can I do this?` The answer is `yes.` We can teach anyone to fly. All that is really essential is the student must have correctable 20/20 vision. Then they want to know what they can do once they get a license. Well, they can come out here and rent an airplane by the hour, day or month. We have a young man coming out here today to rent an airplane for a week. He`s going fishing somewhere.''

To receive a license to fly a single-engine airplane, a student must complete 40 hours of instruction, 20 of which require dual flight instruction. The cost of the first 20 hours is $51 an hour, and solo air time is $34 an hour. Most pilots, says Arnold, are able to solo after 12 to 15 hours of instruction. He adds that the national average for people getting their private pilot`s license is actually about 60 hours of flying time. Including ground school, the total cost of becoming a licensed single-engine pilot is about $2,500.

More exotic aircraft instruction includes learning to fly hot air balloons. Such instruction is available at Big Sky Balloons Inc. in Plainfield (892-8500 or 815-436-7004). Unlike flight in a motorized aircraft, ballooning is a quiet, natural experience. The average balloon is seven stories high and is fueled by propane from a burner capable of producing 12 million Btu`s an hour, almost 100 times as powerful as the average household furnace. The balloon is controlled by ascending and descending into fluctuating wind currents.

To become a licensed hot air balloon pilot, a student is required to take a minimum of six flights totaling 10 hours air time experience, in addition to ground school training. The cost of the course is about $1,500 (figure $150 an hour), and less if you own your own balloon.

''A lot of the time I teach the ground school in the air,'' says Mike O`Connor, president and chief pilot at Big Sky Balloons. ''We give sample tests to students and prepare them for the written FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) test. If the student passes the test, then we give them a final checkout test.'' This last test requires students to demonstrate a knowledge of airspace regulations and such things as ''terminal velocity descents.'' O`Connor says most of his students are ready to solo after about eight hours of instruction and flight experience.

Soaring, or sailplane flying or gliding, is another motorless way to explore the sky. Hinckley Soaring, on U.S Hwy. 30 just west of Hinckley

(815-286-7200), and Windy City Soaring at Clow International Airport, off Naperville Road in Plainfield (759-2046), both have resident soaring instructors. A sailplane demonstration flight costs about $25, and the cost of training for a solo glider`s pilot license is about $650, which includes 25 flights and ground school instruction.

Among the most exotic, and perhaps the most accessible, of the flying machines is the ultralight aircraft, which resembles a hang glider with a motor. The ultralight pilot is not required to have an FAA-approved license, but, obviously, qualified instruction is highly recommended. Such instruction is available at the Wheatland Airport on Haffenrichter Road in Kendall County (off U.S. Hwy. 34), where for $475 Dino Desmond will put you through a structured flying course. His students are usually able to solo after seven hours of dual instruction. Rental ultralights are not available, but the cost of the flying machines is relatively low. A used ultralight may be purchased for $2,000 and a new one costs about $5,000. If you are interested in learning to fly an ultralight, Desmond may usually be found on any nice day at the Wheatland Airport (there is no phone number).

Dino`s father, Al, who has piloted motorized aircraft for more than 25 years, describes his attraction to flying and ultralights this way:

''As a kid I always dreamed of putting my arms out and flying. I have been flying for a long time looking for that feeling. But when I flew an ultralight for the first time, I thought I died and went to heaven. It is a sensation that is very difficult to describe, but it is the essence of flying, the closest I have gotten to the dream I had as a kid.''

For further information about learning to fly, contact the airport nearest you for the names of certified instructors.

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