Having enlisted in the Air Force after graduating from the Citadel, Easton’s Dustin Pope, son of Talbot County Sheriff Dallas Pope, was determined to earn his private pilot’s license at Easton Aviation before he reported for duty, with only five weeks to complete the minimum 40-hour course. On April 25, pilot examiner Frank S. Phillips Jr. signed Pope’s certificate after a challenging flight test in the Cessna 172 in which Pope had trained. Pope had passed the written portion of the test two days before with flying colors. He will first train as a navigator, but hopes to enter flight training later.