first solo
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First Solo Flight – Joonwoo Cho
Jul 13 2017Solo Date: July 10, 2017
Aircraft: Cessna 172
Instructors: Ron Vlastelica
Location: Monterey, CA (KMRY)
Helicopter pilot, Joonwoo, came to our Monterey flight school to earn his fixed-wing airplane Private Pilot License (PPL). He’s making short work of the transition, as he just completed his first solo in Monterey and second solo in Salinas. Checkride is coming fast and he is rising to the challenge. Joonwoo will soon head back to South Korea for more flying. We love seeing your progress!
First Solo Flight – Julien Pourtet
Jul 13 2017
Solo Date: July 1, 2017
Aircraft: Cessna 172
Instructors: Ron and David
Location: San Jose, CA (KRHV)
Congrats to Julien for achieving this major notch in a pilot’s belt!
“Just wanted to share pictures of my first solo with the school. I soloed with Ron on July 1st, although most of my training so far has been with David Waksberg. I think both of them, even though they have different teaching styles, are great instructors. I can’t wait to fly places on my cross country flights.” ~ Julien
First Solo Flight – Thomas Seymour-Cozzini
Jul 03 2017Solo Date: June 28, 2017
Aircraft: Citabria 7ECA
Instructor: Grainne Gilvarry
Location: San Jose, CA (KRHV)
We love to see a student solo, especially in a taildragger! Hitting the mark of solo is quite an accomplishment. In a tailwheel airplane it can take a bit longer to master the landing technique and feel comfortable flying without an instructor there to help. Congrats to Thomas and his instructor Grainne for this notch in the pilot’s belt!
Although you may not see him, Thomas is the reason our airplanes are fueled and ready to go for those early morning weekend flights. From all of us, thanks for the hard work!
First Solo Flight – Andrew Kuo
Jul 03 2017Solo Date: June 18, 2017
Aircraft: Cessna 172
Instructor: David Waksberg
Location: San Jose, CA (KRHV)
For most people reaching the goal of first solo flight is a big achievement, but for Kuanlin “Andrew” Kuo it took incredible fortitude and commitment. Andrew had to complete all the tasks of any private pilot student. Due to vision issues, he also had to fight his way through getting a special medical issuance and passing a flight test (called a SODA) with Jeff Ebey, the man in charge of all pilot examiners and flight school operations at San Jose FSDO. Andrew passed with flying colors 😉 He and instructor David definitely earned the privilege to solo and are now continuing on to Private Pilot certification. Nice work, guys!
First Solo Flight – Thao Do
Jul 03 2017Solo Date: May 27, 2017
Aircraft: Cessna 172
Instructor: Dick Chang
Location: San Jose, CA (KRHV)
A big shout out to Thao, who successfully completed her first solo flight in Cessna N12234. Instructor Dick Chang watched like a proud papa as Thao flew 3 takeoffs and landings on Runways 31R and 31L without him sitting next to her.
Thao came to AeroDynamic for an aerobatic thrill ride with our Chief Instructor, Jen, and she has become a cheery face at our school. She is an incredibly accomplished woman who is quickly adding “pilot” to her list of capabilities.
Thao filmed her flight to share with all of us, prospective and experienced pilots, her incredible experience. Click here to see her YouTube video.
First Solo Flight – Kelsie Zhao
Mar 10 2017Solo Date: March 6, 2017
Aircraft: Cessna 172
Instructor: Batelle Rachmian
Location: San Jose, CA (KRHV)
Congrats to Kelsie and her instructor Batelle for this momumental achievement in pilot training. In her own words, “Reason into aviation: Aeronautics major; didn’t get to design an airplane so think I probably should fly one 🙂
Like the idea of just me and beautiful view outside, more or less inspired by the book West with the Night.”
It’s looking to be a banner year for Cessna 61637! This Cessna 172M takes yet another student pilot, Kelsie, on her first solo flight around Reid-Hillview Airport’s traffic pattern. Soon this beloved airplane will also add Kelsie to her distinguished list of pilots who have earned their pilot wings in her white, red and gray airframe.
First Solo Flight – Henrique Rodrigues
Mar 06 2017Solo Date: February 25, 2017
Aircraft: Cessna 172
Instructor: Eric Curtis
Location: San Jose, CA (KRHV)
We love seeing fledgling pilots leave the nest and soar around the airport patch. AeroDynamic sends a big “way to go” to Henrique and his instructor Eric for this first adventure flying an airplane solo. Henrique took Cessna 61637 off Runway 31R for 3 full-stop takeoffs and landings with Eric watching carefully from the sidelines. Next up…cross-country flight training, more solos, and then checkride preparation. Have fun!
First Solo Flight – Dmitriy Kosovskiy
Mar 06 2017Solo Date: February 23, 2017
Aircraft: Cessna 172
Instructor: David Waksberg
Location: San Jose, CA (KRHV)
When one teaches as much as David Waksberg, it makes sense he would have fun traditions for soloing his students. Student pilot Dmitriy experienced first-hand the bucket-o-water after his first solo flight at Reid-Hillview Airport! While we don’t condone wet T-shirt contests ;-), we do enjoy hanging solo shirts on our office wall for a time, even if they are dripping wet.
Go, Dmitriy, go!
First Solo Flight – Elliot Young
Feb 17 2017Solo Date: February 15, 2017
Aircraft: Citabria 7ECA
Instructor: Batelle Rachmian
Location: San Jose, CA (KRHV)
Thanks to this unusual weather California is experiencing, student pilot Elliot Young patiently waited over a month to finally take his first solo flight. Some things are worth the wait, like the first time you takeoff in a taildragger without an instructor in the backseat. At first the quietness, there’s no instructor shouting “more right rudder!” from behind you, then the taste of freedom as you realize it’s really just you and your flying machine, and finally the exhilaration as you bring that airplane in for landing…ALL…BY…YOURSELF! Congrats on this amazing accomplishment to both Elliot and Batelle.
First Solo Flight – Eric Jones
Feb 11 2017Solo Date: February 5, 2017
Aircraft: Citabria 7ECA
Instructor: Batelle, Jason, Grainne & Jen
Location: San Jose, CA (KRHV)
Traveling all the way from Arizona, Eric Jones made a commitment to himself that his first solo flight would be in a taildragger…and he did it! Using his first vacation in years, student pilot and aircraft fueler from Phoenix flew with quite a few of AeroDynamic’s tailwheel instructors and was able to solo just before departing for home. We are so honored he made the trip here to fly with us and accomplished what he set out to do – tailwheel endorsement and first solo flight. Way to be awesome, Eric! We wish you lots of luck with finishing your pilot’s license and hope you come back someday soon to do some more taildragging with us.