Ladies and Gentlemen, the newest instrument rated pilot in Reno, Nevada - Paul Irving! Yes, our recent pilot of the month, Paul, has done it again - in a good way. This aviator has been nothing shy of amazing to work with from his conscientious and meticulous approach to his flying (no pun intended) to just being an all around great human. Paul’s ground roll with the punches has been fantastic over the winter and spring with probably more hours on the sim during no-fly days than anyone. I think he may have even given the sim a name but we can’t reprint that here. It was obvious today was going to be a good day when Paul showed up cool as a cucumber ready to show the examiner he has what it takes to fly safely in the clouds. He may haven even driven the Jeep in today - that’s confidence! After a well prepped and successful oral, Paul danced with N40RF to a successful ride. Good thing, as now he can go enjoy his beautiful 182 as an instrument rated pilot! Can anyone say GA at the flight levels? Congratulations Paul and congrats to your instructor, Richard Brong, too. Great work!
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Kentucky is home to horse racing, bourbon, moonshine, coal and much more. It is also home to Northern Nevada’s newest CFI, Josh Blackburn! Normally we would pun the heck out of Josh, being from Kentucky and all, but we have tortured him enough in his last couple of rating/certificate emails. Today, instead, we will focus on the hard work he put into this certificate. Josh works full time (plus). He is taking phone calls before he hops into the plane, then as soon as he lands. Meetings, extra hours, you name it, he juggles a lot. Plus, he is back and forth to Kentucky to see family, including his grandkids, who he adores. Somewhere in between all that, he managed to study, fly, and successfully pass his CFI checkride. If successful time management was a living/breathing person, it would be Josh. And an impressive work ethic to boot. Huge congratulations to Josh Blackburn on this impressive milestone!! I would say take a break, but something tells me he is not done yet. CFII? Maybe get your “shine on” just a little Josh. Congratulations again to Josh and also his CFI Danny Britson!
A rolling stone gathers no moss. And neither does Ben Roller!! This high-speed student pilot got the ball rolling this morning, completed the oral exam portion with the words rolling right off his tongue, then heard “let’s roll” and he and the examiner hit the sky. No barrel rolls, but some sweet rolled on landings. Landed back in KRNO and we rolled out the red carpet as this brand-new private pilot rolled out of the plane (not really, it was more a step) with a pass! Passing his checkride was as easy as rolling off a log, well maybe not that easy but we got to keep it rolling. Ben has been working hard, rolling up those sleeves and managing training, studying, working full time, ang relieving stress by hiking in gorgeous rolling meadows, all to hit his goals. Ultimately, he wants to be rolling through the airport with his roller bag, rolling up to that commercial cockpit he is Captain of. Based on his success so far (and tolerating our terrible emails), Ben can definitely roll with the punches and have great success in this industry. Let the good times roll and celebrate!! Huge congratulations to Ben and his CFI Matt Helleckson! Next step, roll right into his instrument rating!
Ben rolled out before we could snap a picture, so here he is at solo. He looks the same, just a bigger smile :) It is a fact that a good pilot never stops learning. Take CFI Austin White for example. A current GBA CFI who did not feel like one “I” was enough. So, today, after he had a student pass a private pilot checkride, Austin added another “I” to his title and became a CFII!! Austin has been having a blast with primary instruction but always wanted to add that next step. Despite you all keeping him crazy busy with training, plus spending time with his wife and their dogs, he still found space to study, train, and advance his skill set. And it all paid off today! Austin has been teaching with GBA for just over a year and has had much success. We are so excited for Austin as he starts to think of his next goal in aviation. GBA CFI/CFII forever? We wish, but there are other incredible opportunities waiting out there for him. Don’t worry, he isn’t going anywhere just yet. Awesome job Austin and huge congratulations as well to his instructor, Richard Brong!
Runway?!? Who needs a runway? Well, usually David Sidorski, Rotorcraft ATP doesn’t. But today he did when he landed back at KRNO as a newly minted airplane Private Pilot!! David Sidorski showed the examiner anything but a hover, flying his new favorite aircraft, a C172, around Northern NV demonstrating all maneuvers well within standards. No longer does the earth reject him, it welcomes him on 9000ft of paved runway. And while he once thought runways are for Princesses, he now is one :) Welcome to the club David! He is heading back to work soon on his 2 week on/2 week off rotation but then will be back to earn his fixed wing instrument. You will read about him again in no time. Nice job Rotorhead! Huge congratulations as well to his CFI Austin White!
Ethan Vincent is a commercial pilot!! Not sending those applications out to the airlines just yet, but this remarkable young man can now start earning more experience as a paid pilot! Talk about working around cruddy weather too. Ethan is home for a quick break from his full-time role as a student at Southern Utah University and had to manage his training around the cruddy weather all week. But what a success! He’s got a little more time off and will leisurely spend it celebrating it on the beaches of Hawaii. Then he’s back to school and back to training. It has been incredible to see how Ethan has managed his training from a far. Flying with instructors in Cedar City and here in Reno. What an amazing accomplishment, and a wonderful example for students in showing them what hard work and dedication can accomplish. We are so happy for you Ethan and your success thus far. Keep moving forward!! Congratulations as well to his CFI, Richard Brong!
Ok everyone, this is not a drill! Local Fireman Jaden Protain was on fire as he soloed this morning in N37JA at KRNO, Runway 35R!! He might be used to coming in hot, but today he was cool and calm as he logged that first PIC time. He gave his instructor Chazz Sandoval the axe and made him watch from the ramp. Jaden stopped, dropped, and enrolled in flight school a few months again, battling the crazy Reno weather but his motivation never got extinguished. No doubt he will successfully move forward with the burning passion of earning his private pilot certificate and additional ratings/certificates. Awesome job Jaden!! Your success thus far is lit! Great job as well to his firecracker CFI, Chazz!
We aren’t saying Jeremy said this, but…why is Halloween the San Francisco Giants favorite holiday? It’s the only thing in October they have to look forward to. Hahaha! Jeremy Martinez, proud Dodgers fan, is a Private Pilot!! He completed a successful checkride this morning and left the airport with new bragging rights. He obviously makes smart decisions, based on his baseball pick, but today he showed he also makes good decisions in the air. When this hard-working young man is not flying, he can be found up at the Lake probably still shoveling, school, and working in his family’s construction business. Jeremy lives in Kings Beach and has been another one of our commuters battling the never-ending winter road conditions. It has not stopped him from succeeding. Jeremy was also the recipient of a recent local aviation scholarship. His hard work in all parts of his training paid off. Awesome job to Jeremy and his CFI Austin White! And…Go Dodgers!
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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
May 2024
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