Solo 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