Aviation
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First Solo Flight – Charith Wickramaarachchi
Apr 26 2022Solo Date: March 25, 2022
Aircraft: Cessna N968RC
Instructors: Thao Do & Graham Harbman
Location: San Jose, CA (KRHV)
New Private Pilot – Sicheng Xin
Apr 09 2022Private Pilot Checkride: March 21, 2022
Instructor: Zibin He
Aircraft: Cessna N968RC
Location: San Jose, CA (KRHV)
CFI Zibin is on a roll with a second Private Pilot who successfully completed his checkride and earned a first-time pass with DPE Jon Thornton. Congrats to both!
Jason Brown Scholarship Recipient – John Keegan
Dec 22 2021We are overjoyed to announce the first recipient of our annual $2,000 Jason Brown Tailwheel Scholarship! Three independent reviewers unanimously selected John Keegan of Monterey to be this year’s recipient. John earned his Private Pilot certificate with us this year and dreams of becoming a bush pilot in Alaska someday. Below you can read part of his submission essay to see why he was an excellent candidate to add tailwheel training to his pilot credentials.
“At the age of 14, I knew I wanted to become a bush pilot. My brother and I would sit glued to the TV for hours watching “Flying Wild Alaska” pilots prepare for one mission after another, using their skills and experience to deliver passengers, parcels, and produce to communities all over the Alaskan wilderness while managing difficult terrain and weather. To me, flying small tailwheel aircraft in the bush was the most perfect and efficient use of an airplane. Years later, I’m still inspired to become a commercial bush pilot.” ~ John
P.S. Happy Birthday, Jason. We miss you endlessly. Thanks to all who donated to honor Jason’s memory.
New Commercial Pilot – Sergey Kataev
Sep 13 2021Commercial Pilot Checkride: August 31, 2021
Instructors: Dick, Thao & Evgenii
Aircraft: Cessna N54102
Location: San Jose, CA (KRHV)
Happy birthday, Sergey!
“I got my first PPL Scotland and flew in the US with AeroDynamic on that license. Eventually I found the taildragger challenge to be great fun and got my US PPL in a Citabria, then added glider rating as a safer alternative to hang gliding.
Light sport planes have always appealed to me as the most fun to fly, so I got a CFI-Sport license, and I’ve introduced quite a few people to flying over the last 3 years.
Last year I decided to go for the full CFI, completing the Instrument rating in April and now Commercial Pilot license. Thanks to Dick Chang, Thao Do and Evgenii Sikachev for teaching me. CFI is next!” ~ Sergey
New Private Pilot – Kevin Healy
Sep 08 2021Private Pilot Checkride: August 26, 2021
Instructors: Daryll and Steph
Aircraft: Cessna N915L
Location: Monterey, CA (KMRY)
Kevin passed his Private Pilot checkride with DPE Jon Thornton on his first try. Congrats to him and CFIs Steph & Daryll from our Monterey location. Well done, all!
First Solo Flight – Brian Baumgartner
Sep 06 2021Solo Date: August 23, 2021
Aircraft: Cessna N968RC
Instructor: Thao Do
Location: San Jose, CA (KRHV)
“It was exciting to reach the first major milestone that everyone talks about in aviation: The Solo. We parked the plane and my instructor got out, after which this baby bird literally flew away from the nest. Even though we had practiced some 150 landings and 50 flight hours, the confidence and pride in my abilities made the first solo experience as monumentus and exhilarating as I was told it would be.” ~ Brian
New Private Pilot – Sandor Nagy
Sep 04 2021Private Pilot Checkride: August 22, 2021
Instructors: Steph and Tom
Aircraft: Cessna N915L
Location: Monterey, CA (KMRY)
Whoot whoot, Sandor! Way to rock the Private Pilot checkride and earn your first set of pilot wings!
“Reaching this milestone has been my dream since childhood. As a kid, I rode my bicycle to the Concord (KCCR) airport, watched planes, and listened to pilots on an aviation radio that I purchased with my savings. Over the decades several of my closest friends have pursued private aviation, and now it was my turn. Learning to fly in the Monterey Bay area has been a thrill. I look forward to flying up and down the West Coast to explore new places with family and friends. Looking down from 5,000 feet reminds me about the importance of protecting this very special place we call Earth….see you in the skies!” ~ Sandor
New Commercial Pilot – Lukasz Weber
Sep 03 2021Commercial Pilot Checkride: August 21, 2021
Instructors: Thao Do
Aircraft: Cessna N968RC
Location: San Jose, CA (KRHV)
We are so proud of you rocking out the Commercial checkride with a first-time pass! CFI next so you can teach with us?? 😉
“I’ve been flying for 2 years now and continue to love it. Privatepilot license opened the door, and Instrument training expanded my horizons, while making me a better pilot. At that point, I was well on my way to fulfilling my Commercial rating requirements and wanted to keep on getting better. I’m now flying my family around and being safer, smoother, more consistent is always on my mind. Thanks to
Thao’s instruction, great preparation, and persistence, I’ve now passed that challenge as well! I’d recommend a Commercial Rating for the precision landings and to become more consistent with the core maneuvers. The staff at AeroDynamic is awesome, and I couldn’t have done it without insights from Brian on landings, or the support from Matt, Edgar, Rebecca, and, of course, Josh (who I bother way too much).” ~ Lukasz
New Commercial Pilot – Mike Fritsche
Sep 02 2021Commercial Pilot Checkride: August 18, 2021
Instructors: Steph and Bentley
Aircraft: Cessna N968RC
Location: Monterey, CA (KMRY)
Congrats to Mike on all the hard work and dedication it takes to make it to Commercial Pilot status! We look forward to seeing him fly tours of Monterey Bay with us and eventually continue on to Flight Instructor 🙂
New Private Pilot – Lainey Rogers
Sep 01 2021Private Pilot Checkride: August 17, 2021
Instructor: Skyler Tan
Aircraft: Cessna N54102
Location: San Jose, CA (KRHV)
Way to rock it out! Lainey did an amazing job with studying and flying during her summer break from college, and she capped it off with a first-time pass of her Private Pilot checkride. Lainey’s dad also flies with us, and we all couldn’t be more proud of her. Oh, the places you will go! Hope to see you next summer for the instrument rating.