STANTON : City Classes Include Flying, Dog Training

Special-interest classes at the Recreation and Leisure Services Department offer instruction in a variety of subjects--yoga, darts, dog obedience training and, for the first time, flying.

Beginning Jan. 19, Paul Nessel will teach a 10-week class called “Principles of Aviation.” Nessel, 74, started flying in World War II.

“Flying is really very simple, but it’s not like learning how to drive a car,” he said.

In his class, which meets for 90 minutes each Tuesday, Nessel will explain the basics of flying to his students. “It’s entertainment, with learning included,” he said of the course. Nessel has taught the same class for the city of Garden Grove.

No one will graduate with a pilot’s license, but many of Nessel’s students have studied later to become pilots. One student, Nessel said, was inspired to build an ultra-light plane from a kit and was able to fly it, since no pilot’s license is needed.

And then there was the woman who took his course so she could pilot her husband’s plane in an emergency.

“Women make excellent pilots,” Nessel said. “With weather, women use better judgment.”

“Most men are too rough on the controls, and many of them are too macho,” he said.

Penny Milne will come to Stanton to teach dog obedience, starting Jan. 18. Milne said young puppies need to be taught to respect their owners.

“Unless the dog learns to see them as socially superior, there can be problems,” she said. She cited chewing, biting and a lack of toilet training as behaviors that need to be remedied.

Milne said children also need to be taught how to control their pets. “Most family dogs like their kids, but they don’t necessarily respect them,” she said. “They feel free to steal (the children’s) food and knock them over.”

One of her goals, Milne said, is to help owners establish themselves as “leaders” in their puppies’ eyes.

Pet owners will bring their dogs each Monday during the six-week class and learn training steps they can practice at home.

“People need guidance, because they can make things worse,” she said.

All classes will be at the recreation department, at 10660 Western Ave. Classes cost between $6 and $60. Call (714) 220-2220, Ext. 276, for details.