Every time a bell rings, an airplane pilot laughs at the implausibility of the television show Wings. Experience the friendly skies from the air instead of from your TV set with today's Groupon: for $100 you get a one-hour flight lesson (a $210 value) from FlightGest, Inc., which operates out of Raleigh-Durham Airport.

Under the supervision of an FAA-certified instructor, aspiring pilots in the FlightGest program will discover the basics of flight while briefly taking over the controls of a technically advanced Cessna 172S. This lesson, which lasts a little more than an hour, begins with a brief ground school lesson in which students learn about radio, dials, and flight safety before take-off. Along the way, pilot pupils will gain experience in how to handle air traffic control and how to prank passengers by saying "If you look to your left, you'll see the Grand Canyon" as the plane flies over central Kansas. This introductory class counts toward the 40 hours of airtime required to achieve an FAA certification, and instructors will provide students with a debriefing that will cover the flight's successes and missteps.