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    Ethan is a commercial pilot!

    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!
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    Jaden is on fire!!

    ​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!  
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    Jeremy is a Private Pilot!!

    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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    Nathan is a CFI!!

    It’s plane to see why Nathan Morin is so fly!! Today we are happy to announce he is a CFI!! Talk about “stick-with-it-ness.” Nathan has persevered life and training obstacles and came out the end with huge success. Fall, learn, get up and do it again (and again and again). Nothing keeps this hard-working guy down. You all know Nathan as our line tech, but rumor has it, he might be sporting the coveted blue polo soon. He was bugging Richard for a CFI interview before the ink on his commercial certificate was dry. Nathan is a zero to CFI student at GBA and definitely eats, breathes, and sleeps aviation. When Nathan is not pushing planes around and cleaning bellies, you usually see him propped up against a tow bar taking pictures of airplanes, eating his 5th lunch, or getting yelled at by office staff. In all seriousness, we could not be prouder of Nathan and the work, time, and investment he has put into earning this huge accomplishment. Plus the humility he has maintained since he walked into his first ground school class. Continue to be that inspiration Nathan! Congratulations and great job as well to his CFI Richard Brong!
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    Shane is a soloed pilot!!

    ​Jaw ready for this? Shane McAlister, who usually spends a lot of his time in the water swimming and playing water polo, had a splashing good time today in N328ME at KRNO, runway 35R. His CFI Austin White never wondered “water you doing” as Shane logged that PIC time. And it went swimmingly. Yeah, buoy!! Back on the ramp, Austin got some good poolaroids. Like so many, Shane has had delays due to weather, but today he was back into swim of things. Hard work pays off! Today reiterated what a waterful life it is to be flying airplanes. Awesome job Shane!! Huge congratulations to Shane and Austin!! 
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    Ann Soloed!!

    ​Wait a second…two posts back-to-back for the marvelous Ann Leeper?! That's right, April's pilot of the month, Ann Leeper, kicked her flight instructor, Matthew Helleckson, out of the airplane at KRTS this morning (we don’t blame her) and "leeped" her way into the sky, soloing on runway 26! With friends and family actively watching her from thousands of miles away in Alaska, Ann had all eyes on her. Buttering all three landings, Matt urged her do another lap, but the mountain biker responded by saying "something always goes wrong when you say one more." Cool Ann fact; she soloed in the same plane, at the same airport, and same runway as her husband. She just did it better ;) When she's not here being an incredible pilot, you can find Ann out mountain biking, drinking a cup of Joe early in the morning on her deck, tolerating her husband Chris (another GBA pilot), or working hard as a local arborist. What an amazing accomplishment and a memorable morning before the winds hit. Huge congratulations to Ann and her instructors on this incredible milestone!!
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