Jeffrey Helf is a private pilot! His training and checkride took place back east, but he is still part of the GBA family. He flew a few flights with CFI Grant Muzzio to prep while he was in town last week for a bowling tournament. Jeffrey has been plagued by weather delays back east too and found a window here to sneak in some last-minute prep. We are so happy for Jeffrey and hope to see him back here soon renting the beloved C172 for some Lake Tahoe sightseeing adventures. Congratulations!!
0 Comments
Noah Klein is a soloed pilot!! KRNO, runway 17L will always hold a special spot in Noah’s training as that was the spot for his first logged PIC time! Flying solo for this Frat Boy was definitely not Greek. He managed the controls just as well as he manages his college studies…which is with complete focus ;) Despite yesterday being an overindulging holiday, Noah told the Frat bruhs “no” and focused on his flights today. And look what came of his responsible decision! Even though he looked pretty beat up due to a busted blood vessel in his eye (does not change his vision), he was cool, calm, and collected for his memorable flight. When Noah is not mastering his keg stand, he is hard at work with his flight studies, college courses, living the Greek life, and making some side money as a DJ. Live young, wild, and Greek, right Noah? Just not in a GBA plane. Awesome job to Noah and his CFI Chazz Sandoval!
Well, we found who has been begging for all the snow…Alex Monroe, avid shredder and also student pilot. Before you tackle him in the office, know that he likes good flying weather too. This carver does not just sparkle on the slopes, he also is pretty awesome in the cockpit. Today, as we continue to enjoy the gorgeous weather between storms, Alex took a break from the slopes and this evening soloed N670CS at KCXP runway 27! Logging that first entry of PIC time was hard earned. Alex has been faithfully coming in on the limited fly days we have had. When he is not flying, or skiing, he is working full time, and probably dreaming about flying and skiing. A lot in common with his CFI Ryan Mill, another guilty snow craver. You guys can stop asking for it now, let’s get springtime going! Regardless of us putting the weather blame on these two, we are super happy for their success! First solo for Alex and first soloed student for Ryan!! Awesome job guys! Keep up the hard work!
The sun came out and so did the planes!! Too bad Anthony Futch could not enjoy some gorgeous VFR flying. He had to foggle it the whole way. Why, you may ask? Well, Anthony was on his instrument checkride but now can lose the foggles and enjoy the views! That means he passed!!! Anthony powered through the rigorous 141 instrument curriculum very prepared for his checkride. He, like so many of you, dealt with setbacks from the weather but he stayed active with ground, flew the simulator, and went aloft any chance he could get. Anthony might look a bit familiar to - no, not from that most wanted poster you see in the post office, but he is also a line tech at GBA! When he is not flying he is helping you all on the ramp and keeping the airplane bellies clean. Based on his pace with his instrument, you will soon be hearing about him again when he passes his commercial checkride. Awesome job Anthony!! Great job as well to his CFII Danny Britson!
If you want to enjoy the rainbow, be prepared to endure the storm. And holy moly, have we had plenty of storms. Jose Saldana endured the storm and today got his rainbow by soloing!! This hard-working aviator has been enduring storm after storm and today got a brief window to get to KRTS and log some PIC time using runway 32. Variable, sometimes surprising winds, a little snow for his CFI Troy waiting on the ramp, made for some unique conditions. Jose put his Northern Nevada flying skills to work and handled it like a seasoned pilot. This soloed aviator does not sit still. He works multiple jobs to achieve his dream of a career in aviation. Between working at the airport, out at the tech center, and others in between, then flight/ground training, he rarely has time for his other love, soccer. Keep working for it Jose! If you do the hard work, it pays off. Today that was evident. Huge congratulations to Jose and his CFI Troy Ware!
Need help studying? Andrew Spanier, GBA commercial student and weekend line tech extraordinaire, has organized a series of ground school study groups. These are not instructor led sessions and no endorsements given. However, the study groups are a great opportunity to work with pilots studying the same material. There is no cost for the groups. All sessions will be held in the large upstairs conference room unless it was previously booked. Signs will be posted for location in those instances. The schedule for study groups in attached. All sessions will begin in April with Private Pilot starting on April 3rd.
Please contact Andrew is you have questions. Andrew.J.Spanier@gmail.com. There is no need to sign up, just show up. Today our resident hydrologist became a Private Pilot!! Daniel Newton holds many titles here at GBA…December Pilot of the Month, Private Pilot, Hydrologist, and a few we cannot post in case kids are reading this ;) Daniel usually goes with the flow, being a hydrologist at all, but today he stood out and demonstrated superior technique in his private pilot skills. He landed back at KRNO in N495SP and heard the congratulatory phase. This weather has been a hindrance to many checkrides but Dan got lucky with a break in the storms. Dan wants to make flying a career and is off to a good start. He is a bit of an over achiever, already has all his knowledge exams done through CFI. Now onto his instrument after he takes an afternoon off to celebrate. Huge congratulations to Dan and this memorable first certificate. Great job as well to his CFIs Kevin Marshall and Jack Darlington!
What is so special about today, you may ask? Dr. Dre’s 58th birthday? Yoko Ono’s 90th birthday? The 93rd anniversary of Pluto’s discovery by some random dude with a telescope? While all of these events have their own special place in history, we have something of our own to add to the books! That’s right! Our very own Samuel Bacino kicked his instructor, Cody Lucero out of the airplane, strapped on a set of wings and blasted off into the sky! Sure, Pluto might be the 10th most massive known object to orbit the sun, but Sam was the 1st most massive object orbiting the Reno airport on this day, Feb 18th, 2023 at approximately 11 am (he was the only one in the pattern). Mark your calendars so you too will be able to retrieve this mind-blowing fact and share this day in history as a smooth ice breaker at your next cocktail party! And in case you would like to add a little extra detail to the story, Sam is earning his Private Pilot certificate all while attending classes full time at the University of Nevada, Reno as a mathematics major! Congratulations to Sam on achieving this huge first milestone! FIRST SOLO!
I swear they let anyone learn how to fly airplanes…here is another one of those helicopter ATPs thinking he can stroll in here and solo the super complicated C172. We had our doubts but today David Sidorski showed us and soloed N495SP on runway 17L at home base, KRNO!! We could say a lot of complementary things about David like how hard he works, how he loves animals and has befriended his neighborhood racoons, likes to spend more time outdoors than in, spoils his cat, is ripping it up in the hills on his dirtbike, or the fact that he is a safe and proficient pilot. We could say that during his two weeks on/two weeks off rotation from his helicopter job he chooses to come in and progress in his aviation skills rather than relax. But no, we would rather judge him for thinking the grass was greener on the rotorcraft side. Regardless of his past questionable decision making, huge congratulations to David and his team of CFIs including Austin White and Kurtis Hornung!! In all seriousness, David Sidorski is super impressive and is killing it in an airplane :)
|
AuthorAll posts are either written by Great Basin Aviation's staff or shared articles from other aviation sites. Source will be referenced in post. Archives
March 2023
|