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    National Aviation Day!

    Today is National Aviation Day! It was in 1939 that President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued the first presidential proclamation designating Aug. 19 – Orville Wright’s birthday – as a day in which citizens are encouraged to participate in activities that promote interest in aviation. Orville who, together with his brother Wilbur, made significant contributions to powered flight.
    Today we celebrate the history and development of the aviation. We hope you got your chance to “aviate” today.

     “The desire to fly is an idea handed down to us by our ancestors who...looked enviously on the birds soaring freely through space...on the infinite highway of the air.”
    - Wilbur Wright

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    Solo and Pilot of the Month!

    AL HOLWILL is our August POTM and he soloed today! Typically when you hear someone does appraisals for the county for tax purposes you want to run the other way. That wouldn’t be the true if you knew Al Holwill. Al is this months POTM and for good reason. He is a joy to be around. Always shows up early and well prepared for each lesson. He is extremely coachable which has led to amazing progress over the past couple of weeks. He soloed today which is a true testament to his flying ability. When he isn’t greasing landings over at KRTS, you can find him out evaluating the value of Reno’s most complex commercial real estate sites and spending time going to mini golf birthday parties. If you get any noise complaints from the practice area it’s because Al enjoys doing turns around a point over his in-laws house. Al is well on his way to earning his PPL. Awesome job to Al and his CFI Jack Darlington!
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    Kurtis is a Private Pilot!!

    Watt’s up on this cloudy Wednesday? Well, Kurtis Lemay, UNR Engineering student, is now also a Private Pilot!! This morning he got down to the unitty gritty as he focused on the oral exam portion. In no time at all he was dispatching N495SP for the flight. He was molecule, calm, and collected and performed all maneuvers within standards. Ion not joking!! Kurtis flew back into KRNO and heard those words we all work so hard for, congratulations. It was emotional but Kurtis did not get theory-eyed. Kurtis is another one of the hard charging Reno Air Race Association Scholarship recipients and earned his Private Pilot Certificate in 9 weeks. He dared to be differential and kept his ion the prize and it paid off. Awesome job to Kurtis, his CFI Troy Ware, and the whole team that made this possible! Like a proton, stay positive 😁
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    Early morning solo!

    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!!

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    Charlie Soloed!!

    ​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!
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    A Summer to Remember!

    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.
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