Blood, sweat, and tears...That’s what Sarah Burch has literally put into her training (inside joke) 🤣 Sarah soloed this morning at a calm and quiet KRTS runway 32 in N670CS! She has been hitting her flight training hard over the last month, flying several days a week, early mornings and late evenings. Sarah is a software demonstration specialist and business woman, but wants to work towards becoming a commercial pilot. She’s lived all over the US - Georgia, New York, and now lives in Incline Village. Her excitement was a bit stalled when she saw Cody coming after her with scissors, but went back to celebrating when her shirt tail was snipped in typical solo fashion. She’ll have her pilot license in no time at all making her the first certificated pilot in her family!! Huge congratulations to Sarah and Cody!!

​Charlie Smith soloed!! Today he flew N37JA at KRTS, runway 32 for his most memorable flight. His CFI Cody Lucero watched on as Charlie flew his first few solo laps in perfect conditions; calm sky, empty pattern, and no extra CFI weight next to him :) Charlie is an early morning flyer and has been coming in about 3 times a week to get to where he is today! From there, he heads to his full time job as an environmental scientist. Plus add in ground school, life, putting up with his CFI Cody, and all the other fun stuff along the way. Charlie’s goal is zero to CFI and he is off to a great start! He walked in this morning all put together and left needing a new shirt. Cody snipped the back and made it official. Huge smiles the whole time. Awesome job Charlie!! Huge congrats to you and your CFI Cody!

Conversation between most kids on the first day of school: “What did you do over the summer?” “Nothing much. Just hung around. Slept late, ate food, annoyed my parents.” Conversation between Koree Bostrom and other kids on the first day of school. “What did you do over the summer?” “Me? I got a scholarship from the Reno Air Racing Association for flight training and earned my Private Pilots License at Great Basin Aviation!!” A huge congratulations to this high school senior for taking the yoke by the horns, putting in the hours to study, the discipline to fly, and earning her certificate in eight weeks. N752DW was the lucky plane today! As the first of our RARA recipients to earn their license, Koree has blazed a path that shows everyone how this should be done! We are very proud of you. Congratulations again to Koree, her CFI Danny, and the entire team that helped make this happen. Special thanks to the Reno Air Racing Association for their inspiration and support.

​Let’s give a big round of applause to Jake Asmis for successfully soloing at KRTS this morning on runway 8 in N495SP!! Before heading out, Jake’s instructor, Cody Lucero, snuck down a pair of scissors and after Jake greased N495SP back down to the tarmac, Cody sliced up the shirttails of Jake’s shirt. If you didn’t know Jake soloed after first seeing him, all he had to do was turn around. And to top off the whole experience, Jake’s supportive family waited and watched in awe from the sidelines of KRTS. Cinematographer assistant at night, warehouse worker during the day, Jake is a busy guy (to say the least), and when he’s not hard at work during the week, you can find Jake grinding away during the weekend working on his flying. Huge congratulations to Jake Asmis and Cody Lucero on a successful day of flying! That’s a wrap!!

After the rain comes the rainbows, right? Well that was the case for Brad Vincent today. He followed the rainbow all the way to pot of gold, ie., solo flight!! Brad flew N752DW with ease at KRTS, using runway 26. This former Army Patriot Missile operator was on target with his pattern work and greased on landings. Brad is on track for his goal of a career in aviation. One step at a time but keeping that big picture goal in mind. Just like a soldier, he shows up prepared and ready to go with whatever his CFI Kurtis Hornung throws at him. Awesome success so far! Definitely a little celebratory gym workout is in order, followed by some gorging on his favorite Chinese food. Great job Brad!! Keep up the momentum and that PPL will be earned in no time. ​

What's bald, sassy, a bit weather geeky, has a camera, and loves C172s so much he used this gorgeous storm natural light for a photo shoot in the rain? Yep, you probably guessed it...CFI/CFII Richard! Thanks for taking these sweet shots of KRNO and Great Basin Aviation C172s :)

The GBA Summer Newsletter is hot off the press! Check it out for lots of great info, successes, and need-to-knows. 📰

Click here for direct access: www.greatbasinaviation.com/uploads/1/1/6/9/116972274/gbasummer22__optimized_.pdf

​Smoke got ya down? Not Adam Alexander! With that familiar fire in his eyes, Adam took to N2291C this morning and soloed at KRTS on runway 8! When he’s not showing off his stuff as a student pilot, you can find Adam volunteering as a firefighter, working on school, or clocking into his shift, and if all of that wasn’t enough for one person already, Adam is from Quincy, California, and makes the commute to Reno to fly with his favorite flight school every week. This committed aviator always comes to his flights on time and prepared, and it’s no surprise to see him achieve this amazing accomplishment. Congratulations to Adam and his instructor Matthew Helleckson on this successful milestone! The hard work is paying off!

Another Pilot of the Month soloed today!! Justin Pedersen, July’s Pilot of the Month (see below), soloed his favorite plane N328ME at KRTS, runway 26, this morning. A few laps enjoying a solo cockpit went by too quick, but he eventually taxied back and picked up his CFI Austin White. Justin is a RARA Scholarship recipient that is on the fast track for his PPL. Except, he has to hold short a bit waiting on his 17th birthday. Be ready for his private pilot email the end of November. Even though he uses an Android and wears Trix Crocs, we still think he is pretty awesome! Huge congratulations for Justin and Austin!  

⭐️JUSTIN PEDERSEN⭐️ Justin is our July pilot of the month! He has continually impressed his CFI with his study habits at home. He shows up to lessons with an in-depth knowledge of the topics they are going to cover that day, making it extremely easy to progress through topics quickly. He may hate waking up early but he makes it to all of his lessons early and prepared. Justin already has the attitude of a pilot. His CFI told him he was getting low and he blamed the CFI for adding nose down trim. Not the fact that they were at power idle.🙄 He makes checklists interesting, since they have to ensure the instruments and engine gauges are “chillin.” Awesome job on solo and Pilot of the Month Justin!!