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First Solo Flight – Joshua Shinavier
Jun 18 2019Solo Date: June 1, 2019
Aircraft: Citabria – N2508Z
Instructor: Scott Holland
Location: San Jose, CA (KRHV)
“I am an engineer at Uber, where I build the company’s knowledge graph. When I was little, I built flying contraptions. I would put a board across my shoulders like a wing and run really fast, or make spinning rotors which, unfortunately, did not produce enough lift to heft me into the sky. It took me a long time to climb into the cockpit of a real flying machine, but it has been a dream come true. I can’t wait for my first cross-countries.”
First Solo Flight – Alex Poklewski
Apr 09 2018Aircraft: Cessna N98485
Instructor: David Waksberg
Location: San Jose, CA (KRHV)
Solo Date: April 4, 2018
“I have always been interested in flying, since I was a child. For my brithday a few years ago, my father-in-law bought me a ticket to go on a “bay tour” style flight out of San Carlos, where you are along for the ride and the pilot allows you to handle the controls for a few seconds. That flight got me hooked, and I realized that my desire to fly is as strong as ever. So, I decided that it’s definitely time to earn my Private Pilot License, and I’m very happy to be working with David and AeroDynamic to make it happen! While I do wish I started flying much earlier in life, I’m thankful to have the opportunity to do it now and am loving every minute of it. I look forward to sharing my love of flying with my kids and family, and being able to explore all the great possible destinations that will be within reach of a private plane.” ~Alex
Thanks for flying with us!
First Solo Flight – JinQing He
Nov 01 2017Solo Date: October 26, 2017
Aircraft: Cessna 172
Instructor: Logan Wright
Location: San Jose, CA (KRHV)
Another fledgling pilot leaves the nest! Congrats to JinQing and Instructor Logan on a successful solo flight on a sunny day in San Jose at Reid-Hillview Airport.
New Private Pilot – Trevor Orr
Nov 01 2017Date: October 18, 2017
Instructor: David Waksberg
Certification: Private Pilot
Student pilot Trevor Orr recently showed up for his Private Pilot checkride with examiner Scott. Not only did he knock it out of the park with a first-time pass, he walked out with his Private Pilot certificate and a job well done. Congrats to both him and his instructor, David.
Examiner: Scott Rohlfing
Aircraft: Cessna N54102
Checkride Location:
San Jose, CA (KRHV)
First Solo Flight – Dominic Palazotto
Jul 27 2017Solo Date: July 26, 2017
Aircraft: Cessna 172
Instructors: Jason Brown
Location: San Jose, CA (KRHV)
A big yaaahoooo for Dominic, who flew an airplane by himself at Reid-Hillview airport yesterday under the watchful eye of Instructor Jason. It’s an amazing thing to take off by yourself in an airplane and suddenly realize it is all on you to get back on the ground safely. There is no instructor there to help you make a good landing, just your hours of training and their voice in your head telling you “stay on centerline, flare gently, just a little more back pressure, good!” And the success of such a flight is evident on Dominic’s face next to N915L right after his first solo flight. Nicely done!
Tailwheel Endorsement – Hamish Kebbell
Jul 27 2017Aircraft: Citabria 7KCAB
Instructor: Batelle Rachmian
Location: San Jose, CA (KRHV)
Australian pilot and traveler, Hamish came to AeroDynamish once again to do some fun flying. In previous years he flew our Cessna 172RG complex aircraft. This time he earned his tailwheel endorsement on July 17th with Batelle and took N1701H on a 30-hour cross-country trip north. Sounds like the right way to spend 10 days of vacation! Thanks for flying with us!
Toyota Financial Group visits Monterey!
Jul 26 2017
AeroDynamic Aviation sends a big “thank you” to Toyota Financial Group for an awesome introductory flight event. We had twelve of our airplanes and 13 of our instructors on a gorgeous blue-sky day at our Monterey location. Each of the participants had a different favorite moment but all expressed their appreciation for the professional instructors that delivered an experience they will never forget. They have already booked next year, and we can not wait for the next event!
A special thanks to our flight instructors for all their hard work and adventurous spirit (Jim, Jason, David, Batelle, Lynzie, Ron, Larry, Adam, Kendall, Jamie, and Carol) and Paul Tanks for an informative one-hour ground school for our first-time student pilots, 16 in all. Way to pull together, team!
First Solo Flight – Annie Pepper
Jul 25 2017Solo Date: July 20, 2017
Aircraft: Cessna 172
Instructors: Dick Chang
Location: San Jose, CA (KSJC)
You may know Annie from the few months she worked in the office, but this helicopter pilot just flew solo in an airplane! Her instructor, Dick, has been working hard to convert Annie to the fixed-wing side of aviation, and he’s doing a great job. Annie is an amazingly accomplished woman who, in addition to being a helicopter instructor, is also attending law school. You rock, Annie!
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!
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!