Checkrides passed
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New Private Pilot – Ivan Wong
Jul 15 2017Date: July 10, 2017
Instructor: Batelle Rachmian
Certification: Private Pilot
“I’ve been wanting to fly since I was a little kid, but I never took the initiative to start training because I made excuses about not having enough money, and then enough time…until last year. It’s really changed my life, and I can’t thank Batelle, David, and everyone at Aerodynamic enough. It’s a great community here.
Examiner: Scott Rohlfing
Aircraft: Citabria N9091L
Checkride Location:
San Jose, CA (KRHV)
New Sport Pilot – Martin Ellis
Jul 03 2017Date: June 22, 2017
Instructor: Jason Brown
Certification: Sport Pilot
Way to go, Martin! Despite life’s chores (why do we have to have jobs?) getting in the way of scheduling, Martin put in the effort to complete his Sport Pilot certification with instructor Jason. His checkride with Scott including have the FAA sit in during the oral portion. Talk about pressure! But Martin handled it like a champ and earned his license on the first attempt. We are so happy for him! Congrats on all the hard work and have fun trolling the skies in the light, fun Evektor SportStar.
Examiner: Scott Rohlfing
Aircraft: SportStar N188EV
Checkride Location:
San Jose, CA (KRHV)
New Private Pilot – Chuang Wang
Jul 03 2017Date: June 17, 2017
Instructor: David Waksberg
Certification: Private Pilot
Woohoo, we have a new private pilot in our midst! Chuang flew through his checkride with pilot examiner Yuzo (pun intended). Thanks to the hard work of both Chuang and his intructor David, our newest licensed pilot will soon be one of those airplanes out buzzing the blue San Jose skies. Congrats to all who made this dream possible for him.
Examiner: Yuzo Wakita
Aircraft: Cessna N737ZD
Checkride Location:
San Jose, CA (KRHV)
New Private Pilot – Jeff Chern
Jun 28 2017Date: May 19, 2017
Instructor: Batelle Rachmain
Certification: Private Pilot
Well done, Jeff, on passing your Private Pilot checkride with Examiner Scott! We hope you are out enjoying the perks of being a licensed pilot. Happy flying 🙂
Examiner: Scott Rohlfing
Aircraft: Cessna N737ZD
Checkride Location:
San Jose, CA (KRHV)
New Private Pilot – Andrew Shacker
May 22 2017Date: May 18, 2017
Instructor: Jason Brown
Certification: Private Pilot
From all of the AeroDynamic crew – A huge congratulations to Andrew for passing his Private Pilot checkride with DPE (designated pilot examiner) Yuzo Wakita. Andrew is a full-time student at Berkeley who took on the extra workload of earning his pilot’s license. We are so proud of Andrew and his instructor Jason for all their long hours and diligence to earn this monumental achievement!
Examiner: Yuzo Wakita
Aircraft: Cessna N98485
Checkride Location:
San Jose, CA (KRHV)
New Private Pilot – Malick Usman
May 01 2017Date: April 30, 2017
Instructor: David Waksberg
Certification: Private Pilot
Examiner: Yuzo Wakita
Aircraft: Cessna N61637
Checkride Location:
San Jose, CA (KRHV)
New Private Pilot – Shawn Nikkila
Mar 31 2017Date: March 29, 2017
Instructor: Jason Brown
Certification: Private Pilot
Whoot Whoot! Congrats to AeroDynamic’s newest tailwheel pilot! With a family of pilots, Shawn earned his wings and plans to fly for fun in his dad’s Cessna 120, another fun taildragger. Shawn soloed in Citabria 990wY with us in November and passed his checkride in Citabria 1806G just a few days ago. He flew to Calaveras Airport, at the base of the Sierra Mountains, to take his checkride with tailwheel examiner Rob Davids. And he passed with flying colors! Congrats to both Shawn and Jason for this achievement. Happy flying!
Examiner: Rob Davids
Aircraft: Citabria N1806
Checkride Location:
Calaveras, CA (KCPU)
New Multi-Engine Pilot – JP O’Dell
Mar 09 2017Date: March 3, 2017
Instructor: Jen Delp-Mallet
Certification: Multi-Engine Private Pilot
After recently earning his instrument rating with us, Monterey-based pilot JP O’Dell mastered our Twin Comanche in just 12 short hours and passed his checkride on the first attempt! Despite being a full-time student and avid athlete, JP made time to study the Twin Comanche’s systems, emergencies, and engine-inop procedures. JP plans to continue on to a career in aviation (hopefully becoming a CFI for us), but for now the lucky 19-year-old has access to fly a Beechcraft Baron for a number of hours while he works toward his Commercial Pilot License.
Try to avoid shutting down an engine anytime soon, and we will see you in a few months for that next pilot certification.
Examiner: Yuzo Wakita
Aircraft: Twin Comanche N40DA
Checkride Location: San Jose, CA (KRHV)
Image: Right engine shutdown (feathered) in flight.
New Private Pilot – Matt Fall
Feb 27 2017Date: February 24, 2017
Instructor: Tom Morley
Certification: Private Pilot
AeroDynamic’s office manager, Matt, receives the first of his pilot certifications with a first-time pass of his Private Pilot checkride! Matt has flown with almost all the instructor’s we have in an effort to round out his flight training, which gave him a boost of confidence for the checkride, and we are so proud to see him succeed.
Matt’s first planned flight is to take his girlfriend on a few cross-country trips to show her why he’s so passionate about aviation. A date flight to Harris Ranch should do the trick! Matt plans to continue on with Instrument rating, Commercial and Flight Instructor (CFI) certifications in his pursuit of a career with an airline or corporate company. Thanks for all your hard work in and out of the airplane, Matt. From all of us, congratulations!!!
Examiner: Yuzo Wakita
Aircraft: Cessna N61637
Checkride Location:
San Jose, CA (KRHV)
New Multi-Engine Pilot – Reid Raisanen
Feb 16 2017Date: February 14, 2017
Instructor: David Waksberg
Certification: Multi-engine Commercial Pilot
Guess what Reid was up to this Valentine’s Day? Earning a first-time checkride pass…multi-engine add-on to Commercial Pilot Certificate! Reid is a flight instructor at another great flight school in the Bay Area, and he came to AeroDynamic to fly our Twin Comanche with Instructor David. Congrats to them both on this hard-earned rating. Thanks for flying with us and have fun at the airlines!
“I started flying at 16 in Minnesota and since the economy improved, picked it up again seriously at 26. Since I have all requirements for ATP but multi, I asked around SCFC, where I instruct, for a recommendation. I learned about David and Aerodynamic, flew until it was done. People were friendly, the location was solid, and the airplane was maintained well. Next I will continue the airline interview process. Hope the economy stays strong!” ~ Reid