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    Max is a Private Pilot!!

    Holy Moley!! Max Gratrix is now a Private Pilot! Local Dermatologist and decorated and highly accomplished Army Veteran took to the sky with the examiner this morning. It was clear that no pore maneuvers were made as Max now is a certificated pilot! Earning his Private Pilot Certificate was no rash decision. Max definitely had a lot of skin in the game balancing priorities with his family, successful career, and somehow popping flight training in there. He started from scratch with that Discovery Flight and today that hard work paid off!  Aviation is like a fungus, it just keeps growing on Max. Next step is to go have some fun and build those cross country hours. Huge congratulations to Max and his CFI Danny! Time to celebrate with some topical drinks :) ​
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    He did it again...

    This guy again?? You better believe it! Richard Brong, as many of you know, is the farthest thing from ordinary. From roasting nuts, having pet bugs (like… a lot of pet bugs), predicting weather in his sleep, and flying drones to compensate for the time he isn’t flying his Tomahawk, it’s easy to say that Richard Brong is an interesting character. But we’re not here to talk about how weird Richard is, we do that on the daily here in the office 😉.  We’re here to celebrate yet another incredible accomplishment Richard has added to the list, that being, Richard is now a CFII! I don’t know if you’ve ever heard Richard talk about atmospheric rivers, but if you haven’t, it’s an incredibly moving experience. But have you ever heard Richard talk about instrument flying? I’m sure his students are trembling with excitement, of course, in the reembrace of it. Richard, being the Director of Aviation Education, took his absurd amount of knowledge to his Checkride and dazzled all his fans and spectators as he took off from KRNO. Using his innate teacher skills, Richard brought his CFII Checkride back home in the princess N2291C with success! Congratulations to Richard and his CFII Cody Lucero!!
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    End the week celebrating!

    ​There’s this nice quote: “A good landing is one in which you can walk away from. A great landing is one in which people can use the plane after you” and in the case of Wilson Liang, you never know which one it’s going to be… joking! Wilson Liang, stud, and lollipop-stealer extraordinaire has earned his wings as a private pilot today in N328ME! Wilson is a common face around the office and one pretty radical dude. Being a Beach Patrol Officer for Sand Harbor sparked his interest in aviation when he met a Coast Guard Pilot, and now, with the prospect of getting a navy pilot slot, Wilson is one step closer to fulfilling this dream and Great Basin Aviation is proud to be a part of his amazing journey! Congratulations to the legend himself and his instructor Cody Lucero! Keep it up you guys!
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    Josh is a Commercial Pilot!!

    What do Abraham Lincoln, Muhammad Ali, and Josh Blackburn all have in common? They are all from the great state of Kentucky and probably enjoyed an occasional sip of moonshine :) All great men, but only one is a commercial pilot…Josh Blackburn! That’s right y’all, Josh carried that Kentucky unbridled spirit into his checkride and advanced his piloting to commercial aviation. This morning, Josh beat the crazy winds aloft and took off with the examiner and successfully demonstrated the skills needed for this hard earned certificate. Josh is one of the hardest working guys around. Not only did he serve our great nation in the United States Marine Corps, he now works as a manager at Tesla, a job that keeps him beyond busy. Somehow he squeezes in time to fly here at GBA, plus fly back and forth regularly to the Bluegrass state (where there are not as many banjos as we might think) to visit family, especially his beautiful granddaughter, Shyanne. Huge congratulations to Josh and his CFI Cody Lucero!! 

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    A-Aron Soloed!!

    The weather’s getting pretty swirly today, but that didn’t stop Aaron Christensen from soloing at none other than KRNO this afternoon! That’s right everyone, Aaron kicked out the lambchop and soloed in N752DW at KRNO on 16L with our friendly controllers on comms! With his first taste of flight as a formal Inflight Fuel Operator for the Air Guard, Aaron decided to put down the boom and finally get his wings. Not only has Aaron served in out fantastic military, but he’s also a successful local business owner! Aaron hopes to share the love of aviation with his kids and its apparent that that dream becomes more and more true with each passing day! Congratulations to Aaron and his instructor Ethan Chinowsky! Let’s get that Private!!
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    Y'all...Jordan is a private pilot!!

    Hey y’all…Our favorite Alabamian, Jordan Cauley, is a private pilot!! We might have told him we would not make this about his roots, but yeah….sorry Jordan :) Some go into the checkride as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a roomful of rocking chairs. Not Jordan. He took to the sky this afternoon cooler than a pitcher of sweet tea chilling in the fridge. Greased his final landing back into KRNO and was all smiles hearing that “congratulations” from the examiner. I’ll tell you what, this awesome private pilot has been running himself a bit ragged working full time (and then some) in Fallon, spending time with his beautiful family, flying, and coming to the office to make us laugh and teach us about Jocko Willink’s leadership strategies. In the words of Jocko, “Discipline equals freedom” which Jordan realized today earning that freedom of flight. And, if the creek don’t rise, he will be continue moving forward on his instrument rating! Huge congratulations to Jordan and his CFI Kurtis Hornung.
    Pictures are Jordan after passing his checkride today and Jordan and Kurtis on their discovery flight.