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New Private Pilot – Yipeng Zhou
Apr 07 2022Private Pilot Checkride: March 14, 2022
Instructor: Zibin He
Aircraft: Cessna N98485
Location: San Jose, CA (KRHV)
Congrats to Yipeng and CFI Zibin for a first-time pass of his Private Pilot checkride with DPE Jon Thornton!
First Solo Flight – Lillian Shen
Mar 31 2022Solo Date: March 24, 2022
Aircraft: Cessna N968RC
Instructor: Skyler Tan
Location: San Jose, CA (KRHV)
Congrats to Lillian and CFI Skyler on all their hard work! The first solo flight is in her logbook and checkride prep has begun. Whoot whoot! We love making pilot dreams happen.
New Instrument Instructor (CFII) – Chris Bonneau
Mar 05 2022Instrument Instructor Checkride: February 25, 2022
Instructor: Thao Do & Lynzie Hudson
Aircraft: Cessna N6796H
Location: San Jose, CA (KRHV)
Congrats to AeroDynamic Instructor Chris! He is now a Certified Flight Instructor-Instrument Rating (CFII). Chris loves flying IFR and has many hours flying in the clouds in actual IMC. He is excited to share his passion with his Instrument students. Well done on a first-time pass of this thorough checkride with DPE Richard Conte.
New Instrument-rated Pilot – Trevor Orr
Mar 05 2022Instrument Checkride: March 1, 2022
Instructor: Zibin He
Aircraft: Cessna N54102
Location: San Jose, CA (KRHV)
Trevor Orr earned his instrument rating! Trevor picked up the checkride and nailed everything with DPE Scott Rohlfing to get his new rating. We are super proud of all his hard work on one of the most challenging checkrides.
New Private Pilot – Alex Bonne
Feb 16 2022Private Pilot Checkride: February 11, 2022
Instructor: Ivan Stanojevic
Aircraft: Citarbria N990WY
Location: San Jose, CA (KRHV)
Congrats to Alex and CFI Ivan on a first-time pass on his Private Pilot checkride with DPE Tom Hornak! Alex earned his PPL in our Citabrias but will soon begin transitioning to his newly acquired Maule M7-235, which he also leases to us to train others in. Way to go, Alex!!!
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.
First Solo Flight – Ching-Chi Chang
Dec 22 2021Solo Date: November 9, 2021
Aircraft: Cessna N9027H
Instructor: Thao Do
Location: San Jose, CA (KRHV)
“I’m very grateful for reaching this milestone and for all the instructions I’ve received along the way. I was a bit sluggish in the middle but Thao helped to push me through. Will continue to work toward the certificate while enjoying the journey!” Ching-Chi
New Sport Pilot – John DeRuiter
Nov 30 2021Sport Pilot Checkride: November 3, 2021
Instructor: Sergey Kataev
Aircraft: SportStar N712MF
Location: San Jose, CA (KRHV)
“I come from a flying family that has 2 retired KLM pilots and 1 KLM flight engineer and now a cousin that is also a pilot at KLM. I always wanted to fly and do have a paraglider rating but actual powered aircraft never seemed possible. Then a few years ago I decided to give it a go. I started at a school in Livermore and the plane I was learning in was a 1946 Champ, it broke and was taking forever to fix so I found Serge and started sport pilot training with him and the Aerodynamic team. It has taken me longer (not Serge’s fault) and has been more of an effort than I ever imagined it would be but it is an accomplishment that I am very proud of. I have a lot more respect now for people that go through pilot training especially when you figure out it’s not about being some hot shot in a plane but it’s about a whole lot more, actually you will be humbled and can leave the hot shot attitude at home. Also I have a lot more to learn. So I want to thank all of you for helping me get to this point in my flying adventure and am sure you’ll be seeing more of me at the school.” ~ John D.
New Private Pilot – Brian Baumgartner
Nov 16 2021Private Pilot Checkride: October 19, 2021
Instructor: Thao Do
Aircraft: Cessna N98485
Location: San Jose, CA (KRHV)
“Ever since seeing Top Gun for the first time as a child I wanted to be a pilot. After a few false starts in the past, I finally made it happen this year. While I knew it would be difficult, I never dreamed of the knowledge, skill, and determination required to make it happen. You truly will experience every emotion as you navigate the process, including elation when you finally achieve your goal. I could not have made it all the way without the help, support, and instruction provided by the CFIs and office staff at Aerodynamic Aviation, including Matt Fall, Chris Bonneau, Kevin Oliver, Graham Harbman, Daniel Sims, and especially my primary flight and ground school instructor, Thao Do, who spent countless hours with me in the classroom and cockpit fine tuning my skills and molding me into the pilot I am today.” ~ Brian
First Solo Flight – Deepak Ravishankar
Nov 09 2021Solo Date: October 14, 2021
Aircraft: Cessna N968RC
Instructor: Thao Do
Location: San Jose, CA (KRHV)
“I have always had the dream of learning to fly and it has always a question of “when” and not “if”. When I started my training, I thought I would be nervous but with all the amazing training from Thao and Clinton my solo felt like just another flight. Excited for the next steps and to get my license!” ~ Deepak