New Multi-Engine Pilot – Mike Grachek
Nov 20 2019 0 comments
Date: November 6, 2019
Certification: Commercial Multi-engine
Instructor: Jen Watson
Aircraft: Twin Comanche N40DA
Congrats to Mike on a first-time pass of the Commercial AMEL add-on rating. Mike is already beginning work on his ATP Multi-engine written, then will return to us for his ATP multi-engine flight training. His future plans are then for corporate flying in a Citation around Salinas, CA. Nice way to ace your checkride, Mike!
First Solo Flight – Matt Cole
Nov 20 2019 0 comments
Solo Date: November 3, 2019
Aircraft: Citabria N2508Z
Instructor: Scott Holland
Location: San Jose, CA (KRHV)
“My grandfather is one of my life mentors and some of my best memories growing up are of listening to his stories about flying an A-20 during WWII and the Korean War. For me, it has always been a life goal to become a pilot and to share that skill with my grandfather. Before he passed last March, I was able to tell him that I had begun training to become a Pilot. I’m excited to have gotten to this milestone and my wife and I are starting to plan out where we will fly after my training is finished.” ~Matt
New Private Pilot – Sergi Perdices
Nov 20 2019 0 comments
Date: October 5, 2019
Certification: Private Pilot
Instructor: Kat Hanlon
Aircraft: Cessna N98485
“During the time that I have been involved with Aerodynamic, I really liked the community and I would like to stay connected. I will not pursue instrument rating yet. I would like to enjoy flying for a while, but I still want to continue learning real world flying. If there are pilots that want to plan fun trips, I would love to connect with them.” ~Sergi
New Sport Pilot – Kent Harrison
Nov 20 2019 0 comments
Date: October 20, 2019
Certification: Sport Pilot
Instructor: Sergey Kataev
Aircraft: SportStar N712MF
“Flying with my dad since I was little, and figured now is the time to get into the left seat. Hoping to continue on to private and instrument while building time in LSA aircraft.” ~Kent
New Sport Pilot – Dylan Gorman
Nov 13 2019 0 comments
Date: October 21, 2019
Certification: Sport Pilot
Instructor: Sergey Kataev
Aircraft: SportStar N712MF
“Dylan has wanted to fly ever since he was a kid. His dad was a CFI and he spent most of his summers at the airport or flying around in a Cessna 150. In the immediate future, he plans to continue to grow his aviation skills by flying as much as possible. He intends to eventually upgrade his certification to Private Pilot and obtain an Instrument rating, but for now he is excited to be able to explore the country through aviation!” ~ Dylan
New Private Pilot – Adnan Pratama
Nov 13 2019 0 comments
Date: October 5, 2019
Certification: Private Pilot
Instructor: Kat Hanlon
Aircraft: Cessna N737ZD
“Being a pilot has been my dream as a child. But for a long time I was raised in a home where the thought of that becoming reality never came across. I first got to know that being a pilot just before I graduated from college and never got a chance to get into it until now.
Now that I am licensed, I am planning to go to different places and learn flying in different airplanes including experimental and maybe even part 103. I also plan to get my instrument if I find flying VFR got me grounded too many times due to weather.
I’d like to thank all of my instructors and special thank to Kat Hanlon for taking me when I was left halfway without instructor and pushed me towards the finish line.” ~ Adnan
New Flight Instructor – Ivan Stanojevic
Oct 09 2019 0 comments
Date: September 26, 2019
Certification: Flight Instructor (CFI)
Instructor: Jen Watson
Aircraft: Pacer N8712D
Wahoooo! A big congrats to Ivan for achieving this major milestone in his piloting life. Ivan passed his CFI checkride on his first try, which is a serious accomplishment! His hard work has paid off and we are so excited that he will be teaching at our San Jose location in the Cessna and Citabria.
Ivan has been fantasizing about flying planes since he was a child. His first general aviation flight was in a Cessna to the Grand Canyon for a boy scout trip. Ever since that flight, he knew aviation would one day be a part of his life. He began taking introductory flying lessons in high school and later studied aviation at San Jose State. His aviation aspirations, however, were put on hold while he redirected his focus on a software startup. A decade and a half later, he found himself in a great position to continue exploring flight while also pondering the use of fixed wing aircraft to access the wilderness. After earning a private pilot certificate, Ivan began hunting for a capable back-country aircraft, which ended up being the tailwheel Piper Pacer. During his time as a private pilot exploring the backcountry, he added a seaplane rating at Kenmore in Seattle, WA. Loving all his new flight privileges, he realized a desire to share his joy of aviation with prospective pilots and friends. Ivan is excited to bring new pilots into the skies, help experienced pilots access new destinations, and support all pilots in achieving their aviation goals.
New Private Pilot – Robert Curtis
Sep 25 2019 0 comments
Date: September 20, 2019
Certification: Private Pilot
Instructor: David Waksberg
Aircraft: Cessna N737ZD
“I grew up on air bases and have been an aviation nut for as long as I can remember. It has been a life-long goal of mine to become a licensed pilot. I finally found the right period of life, right school, and right instructor. My family and I are excited to take trips and see more of our country through general aviation.” ~ Robert
First Solo Flight – Kaleo Clissold
Sep 25 2019 0 comments
Solo Date: September 21, 2019
Aircraft: Cessna – N62244
Instructor: Ben Khader
Location: Monterey, CA (KMRY)
“June this year I had a amazing opportunity that opened up to me to pursue aviation as part of my carrier in law enforcement. This had never even been a thought in my mind until now. I have always been mesmerized by flight but never in my dreams did I think I would actually do it. To my amazement I have now been blessed to have just completed my first solo flight in my pursuit of commercial aspersions. Thank you Ben Khader and Aerodynamic Aviation for making this dream a reality.” ~Kaleo
New Instrument Rating – Zibin He
Sep 25 2019 0 comments
Date: September 19, 2019
Certification: Instrument Rating
Instructor: David Waksberg
Aircraft: Cessna N828LP
“Passing the instrument checkride is really a hard work pay off for me. After my private checkride, I jumped right into instrument almost without any break. Unlike all the beautiful things during private training, I only see one picture (the panel) all the time throughout the instrument training. It’s kind of a tolerate, but also discipline. It’s the pay off that I finally get my ticket to fly into clouds. I don’t plan to have any break and will do my commercial license training starting next week. Big thanks to David and everyone had ever helped me on my flight training.” ~Zibin