San Jose
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New Private Pilot – Daniel Yang
Jul 26 2017Date: June 17, 2017
Instructor: Grainne Gilvarry
Certification: Private Pilot
“I dreamed of flying like a bird since I was very young. Thanks to Aerodynamic Aviation and all the instructors who helped in the past to help my dream to become true.
On On On, pushing the air and merging into the sky….” ~ Daniel
Examiner: Yuzo Wakita
Aircraft: Cessna N61637
Checkride Location:
San Jose, CA (KRHV)
New Private Pilot – Craig Reid
Jul 26 2017Date: July 18, 2017
Instructor: Jason Brown
Certification: Private Pilot
“Ever since I was a kid and had the opportunity to fly in a Cessna with my parents friends in Wisconsin and my uncle over the Chicago skyline, I developed an early appreciation and desire to fly. It took a couple decades to finally find the time and the money to pursue flying. From the outside the skills and understanding needed to be a pilot always seemed daunting and complex. Throughout the ongoing learning process, the one thing that surprises me was how the overwhelming complexity melts away and the skill set begins to take shape piece by piece, from one lesson to the next. Many thanks to all of the folks at Aerodynamic for your ability to make the complex understandable and the learning really fun (now I get why my 5 year old daughter likes school… at least for now). Next for me is to continue exploring the world of aviation, the earth from above, and the destinations available by aircraft.” ~ Craig
Examiner: Scott Rohlfing
Aircraft: Citabria N1806G
Checkride Location:
San Jose, CA (KRHV)
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 – Mihaela Popescu-Stanesti
Jul 25 2017Solo Date: July 17, 2017
Aircraft: Cessna 172
Instructors: Lynzie Hudson
Location: San Jose, CA (KSJC)
Mihaela started flying at Aerodynamic Aviation last year with instructor Lynzie Hudson and ‘co-pilot’ Teddy. She somehow found the time to fly among her many adventurous hobbies like triathlons, rock climbing, mountain biking and travel. Congratulations Mihaela! Well done.
New Private Pilot – Ivan Wong
Jul 15 2017Date: July 10, 2017
Instructor: Batelle Rachmian
Certification: Private Pilot
“I’ve been wanting to fly since I was a little kid, but I never took the initiative to start training because I made excuses about not having enough money, and then enough time…until last year. It’s really changed my life, and I can’t thank Batelle, David, and everyone at Aerodynamic enough. It’s a great community here.
Examiner: Scott Rohlfing
Aircraft: Citabria N9091L
Checkride Location:
San Jose, CA (KRHV)
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
Tailwheel Endorsement – Griffin Swarz
Jul 13 2017Aircraft: Aeronca Champ
Instructor: Jason Brown & Grainne Gilvarry
Location: San Jose, CA (KRHV)
Griffin was flying at a nearby school and almost had his tailwheel endorsement when his instructor unfortunately pushed the airplane into the hanger wall, ripping the fabric. He was on a deadline for a glider towing opportunity and we were able to finish up his tailwheel training just in time, thanks to the quick work of instructors Jason and Grainne. Go team!
New Sport Pilot – Martin Ellis
Jul 03 2017Date: June 22, 2017
Instructor: Jason Brown
Certification: Sport Pilot
Way to go, Martin! Despite life’s chores (why do we have to have jobs?) getting in the way of scheduling, Martin put in the effort to complete his Sport Pilot certification with instructor Jason. His checkride with Scott including have the FAA sit in during the oral portion. Talk about pressure! But Martin handled it like a champ and earned his license on the first attempt. We are so happy for him! Congrats on all the hard work and have fun trolling the skies in the light, fun Evektor SportStar.
Examiner: Scott Rohlfing
Aircraft: SportStar N188EV
Checkride Location:
San Jose, CA (KRHV)
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 – Chuang Wang
Jul 03 2017Date: June 17, 2017
Instructor: David Waksberg
Certification: Private Pilot
Woohoo, we have a new private pilot in our midst! Chuang flew through his checkride with pilot examiner Yuzo (pun intended). Thanks to the hard work of both Chuang and his intructor David, our newest licensed pilot will soon be one of those airplanes out buzzing the blue San Jose skies. Congrats to all who made this dream possible for him.