Archive
for November, 2016
New B25 Pilot – Instructor Dick Chang
Nov 29 2016
Long-time AeroDynamic Aviation instructor Dick Chang recently knocked a big item off his Bucket List: Type-rated B25 pilot!
Upon signing up for the course, he received a flight suit, POH, and 64 questions to work on – all before showing up for training in Delaware. After 10 hours of ground school, followed by 3 hours in the B25 called “Panchito” the following day with another student, he performed the required airwork and 3 takeoffs and landings according to FAR 61.55. Upon successful completion of the checkride, Dick received a SIC type rating on the B25!
Congrats from all of his family at AeroDynamic on this amazing achievement!
First Solo Flight – Martin Ellis
Nov 28 2016Solo Date: November 22, 2016
Aircraft: Evektor SportStar
Instructor: Jason Brown
Location: San Jose, CA (KRHV)
He’s rocking out his flight training toward a Sport Pilot Certificate. On fair-weather Tuesday, Martin passed the solo mark on his way to that coveted license-to-fly! With the checkride not far off, he’s well on his way to realizing a life-long dream 🙂
“I’ve wanted to fly for almost as long as I can remember…. over the years though the timing never seemed right…. too busy at work, not enough spare cash, weather too unpredictable (I lived in London for about a decade…).  About a year ago I moved to the bay area, and thought ‘it’s now or never’.  One flight with Jason, and I was hooked!  I find that from the moment I arrive at KRHV, to the moment I leave, all the stresses of life are gone and I’m 100% focused on flying, and love every minute of it!” ~ Martin
First Solo Flight – Terrel Hill
Nov 25 2016Solo Date: November 20, 2016
Aircraft: Citabria 7ECA
Instructor: Grainne Gilvarry
Location: San Jose, CA (KRHV)
On a slightly overcast Sunday, taildragger student pilot Terrel earned the solo notch in his aviation belt. With instructor Grainne watching closely from below, he tamed the taildragger with an empty rear seat. It won’t be long now before he’s holding up that hard-earned Private Pilot Certificate!
“I grew up overseas and so I flew a lot. I loved the planes as a young boy wanted to be a pilot.
One summer as a teenager I flew in a Cessna taildragger from Challis, Idaho to Mahoney airstrip and took care of my uncle’s horses and mules at his hunting camp at Cougar Creek for 8 weeks (middle fork of the Salmon river). I loved flying in the mountains.
Later in high school, I enrolled in an aviation course my junior year. After passing the FAA test (our course final exam), I had to make a tough decision: to save for college or take flying lessons. The dream to fly has been tucked away in the back of my mind for 25 years. Life situations changed – I now have the time and means to learn.
Once I complete my private license training, I hope to take Aerodynamic’s mountain flying course. My dream is to buy a plane and fly to all the remote places that I want to fly fish.” ~ Terrel
New Private Pilot – Fred Schulze
Nov 11 2016Date: November 5, 2016
Instructor: Jen Delp-Mallet
Certification: Private Pilot License
Fred came to AeroDynamic Aviation to finish his Private Pilot training. He not only earned his license on the first attempt with Eric Cook, he passed with flying colors! He plans to continue on with our Mountain Flying Course, Complex Aircraft Checkout, and eventually move on to Instrument Rating. His Instructor Jen could not be more proud of all his hard work and determination to follow his dreams. Way to go, Fred!
Examiner: Eric Cook
Aircraft: Cessna N98485
Checkride Location: San Martin, CA (E16)
Happy 70th Birthday – Champ N2791E
Nov 10 2016AeroDynamic prides itself on training in historic taildraggers. Sadly, it’s rare for a flight school to have tailwheel aircraft anymore, let alone one built in 1946 that still requires handpropping (no electrical system :-o). We are honored to preserve the legacy left by Amelia Reid and later carried on by one of her instructors, Zdravko Podoliski. After 56 years in business and training many aviators and aviatrix, Josh & Jen, two of Zdravko’s pupils, hope to keep the history alive and flying for years to come. Thanks to all of you who support us!
Happy 70th birthday, Champ Two-Seven-Niner-One-Echo. May you teach many more students, give many more first solo flights and keep the dirty side down (most of the time).
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- Ready for the next passenger
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- Cheers to you!
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- I hope I look this good at 70!
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- In the runup with taildraggers
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- Downwind at KRHV
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- Hauling rides
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- Awesome cake by Eric’s wife
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- Jen & Logan up for CFI training
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- Let’s get this party started
First Solo Flight – Christian Goetz
Nov 09 2016Solo Date: November 4, 2016
Aircraft: Citabria 7ECA
Instructor: Tom Morley
Location: San Jose, CA (KRHV)
Christian joined an elite club of aviators who take that first solo flight in a taildragger (conventional-gear aircraft). He began his flight training with Instructors Jason and Batelle, and recently took to the skies alone with Instructor Tom watching from the ground at Reid-Hillview Airport. He’s picking up steam in his training and should enjoy the next phase of cross-country flying as he gets to explore the beautiful fall landscape of California in the fall. Have fun!!
New Private Pilot – Yi Shi
Nov 09 2016Date: October 31, 2016
Instructor: Eric Curtis
Certification: Private Pilot License
AeroDynamic Aviation offers a huge congratulations to Yi for successfully passing his Private Pilot checkride with examiner Eric Cook!
In his own words, “I am Yi Shi, a student of AeroDynamic school, who has just finished 4-month training class and got my license last week. Before entering this school, I had some hours of flying experience, but the success and final outcome of my achieving required lots of guidance and assistance from many people from this school whom I am extremely fortunate to fl with all along the completion of my flying work.
A special thank of mine would go to Eric and Jim, who have provided nice nonstop support to me and helped me most in the whole process. They are experienced pilots who are always willing to share and exchange interesting aviation stories with me. For a young person, their pragmatic advice and authentic guidance are really precious. I would also like to express my profound gratitude to all the staff in AeroDynamic for their necessary information and prompt assistance within such a well-developed flight system. I hope more and more people will benefit from AeroDynamic and good luck to all of you!”
Examiner: Eric Cook
Aircraft: Cessna N61637
Checkride Location: San Martin, CA (E16)
First Solo Flight – Dale Friday
Nov 07 2016Solo Date: November 2, 2016
Aircraft: Cessna 172
Instructor: Chris Laird
Location: Monterey, CA (KMRY)
Woooohoooo! After working so diligently to fulfill his life-long dream of being a pilot, Dale flew an aircraft all by himself out of Monterey’s class Charlie airspace with Instructor Chris and some of the Monterey AeroDynamic family watching in support. In the long-held solo tradition, Dale’s instructor cut his shirttail off and autographed it in remembrance of this first solo flight. Congrats to both of them on this accomplishment. You’re almost there, Dale!!
First Solo Flight – Chuang Wang
Nov 07 2016Solo Date: October 29, 2016
Aircraft: Cessna 172
Instructor: David Waksberg
Location: San Jose, CA (KRHV)
It’s not every day one solos an aircraft, and even fewer get to enjoy the moment on a fair California Saturday afternoon the way Chuang did. After beginning his training in July, Chuang has a progressed quickly to solo at our San Jose location, tackling his first flight alone on a busy Saturday at Reid-Hillview airport. He comes from China originally and plans to travel and fly just for the pure fun of it. Instructor David is moving him toward Private Pilot certification so he can achieve this goal. Keep up the good work!
New Commercial Multi-Engine Pilot – Ghyrn Loveness
Nov 07 2016Date: October 20, 2016
Instructor: David Waksberg
Location: San Jose, CA (KRHV)
Certification: Multi-Engine Rating, Commercial Pilot
Ghyrn comes from a family of flyers and chose AeroDynamic Aviation to pursue a multi-engine rating add-on to his Commercial Pilot Certificate. His Instructor David did an amazing job, finishing the training in just 8 flights! It helps that Ghyrn flies regularly and has accrued over 1,000 hours 🙂 Still, they both worked hard and Ghyrn passed his checkride first attempt with Examiner Yuzo Wakita. Ghyrn has already been spotted taking friends out flying in the Twin Comanche, affectionately called “Twinkie.” Well done!