What’s better than one new soloed student pilot? Two soloed student pilots!!! First, Reed Bennett soloed today in N495SP at KRTS, runway 08! Reed has been training with his Dad, Bob Bennett. Today the proud Dad got to watch Reed take his first few laps in the Stead pattern. Such an awesome achievement and the first solo in the new GBA plane. Congratulations to Reed and Bob for all the hard work they put into getting to this point! Reed is quickly on his way to getting his PPL. 

​Second, congratulations to James Morgan who also soloed at KRTS, runway 08, but in N328ME! James has been flying for a couple months while working for Alaskan Airlines and also going to school. He was working with Emmett and recently transitioned to Levi Mellows who today cut him loose at Stead to take those memorable first few laps! Congratulations to James, Levi, and Emmett for the success! 

There is now one more Instrument Rated Pilot in the sky! Congratulations to Nathan Fielding who passed his instrument checkride!! Nathan has been delayed due to wind and weather but finally was able to put his very proficient skills to the test and literally flew through his checkride. No rest for the weary as Nathan will now move on to his Commercial rating. Great job to him and his instructors Matt Bowers, Kyle Hauss, and Brenden Georg! We look forward to celebrating with Nathan as he earns his next rating and quickly achieves his goal of a career in aviation! Pictured is Nathan and his super supportive fiancé. ​

Check out this beauty that is now on the line at Great Basin Aviation!! N495SP is a 180hp, 1998 Cessna 172S with less than 1000 hours on the airframe and engine. Right now it is being rented for VFR flight only as a few IFR inspections still need to be completed. It is loaded into FSP and available for rental. More details regarding avionics coming soon. Enjoy this awesome addition to the fleet! ​

Congratulations to Emery Johnson who soloed today in N37JA, KRTS, runway 08!! This is a huge accomplishment for any student pilot but especially for Emery. He started his flight training in the bay area and had to take a break while he transitioned to Northern Nevada. Once he got settled, he started up again and today he nailed his first couple laps in the Stead pattern. Congratulations also go out to his instructors, Matt Stubblefield and Nick Mahan. Emery will now confidently start in his post solo training and explore beautiful Northern Nevada while he completes his solo cross country requirements. Awesome job Emery!! ​

Congratulations to Emmett Castellan on heading to the next level in his aviation journey! Today is his last full-time day with Great Basin Aviation as he prepares to head off to his new position at Skywest flying the CRJ’s. Very bittersweet but he promises he will be back part-time once he completes his initial training. Emmett has been such a huge part of Great Basin Aviation’s success. He has instructed over 1200 hours in the last year. Emmett has a million dollar work ethic and is such an inspiration. About 2 years ago Emmett decided to leave the corporate world and go after his dream of flying for the airlines. He set a goal, and almost 2 years to the date, he has all his licenses, ratings, and hours and is all set to go. Talk about refusing to be mediocre! He will be taking the next week and enjoying a vacation with his family then reporting at Skywest on November 25th. You will be missed Emmett!! Thank you for being such an incredible part of this team. We can’t wait to get you back in these planes once you finish your initial training. Best of luck and keep raising the bar! ​