California flying
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First Solo Flight – Ahmed Alsunaidy
Dec 20 2020Solo Date: November 30, 2020
Aircraft: Cessna N53456
Instructor: Daryll Manzano
Location: Monterey, CA (KMRY)
CFI Daryll is keeping those solo traditions alive and thriving! The classics: cutting the tail off the shirt and dumping the water jug over a student.
Three teenage pilots take to the sky!
Aug 01 2018One of our recent graduate’s mom snapped this photo of three 17-year-old Aerodynamic students (2 newly licensed private pilots and 1 student pilot) departing out of Monterey airport. Adam Shapiro is in the left seat, Katrina Espinoza is in the right (his safety pilot) and Sophia Taylor-Home is in the back seat. If you look closely, you can actually see clear silhouettes of 3 people inside the plane.
Adam earned his Private Pilot with us in Monterey back in December 2017. Katrina earned her license at our Reid-Hillview location in June 2018 thanks to a generous scholarship from AOPA (she won their High School scholarship in 2016 for $5000) and another scholarship from the 99s in 2018. Sophia is a current student pilot working hard to get to solo.
We are so proud of you all! This next generation of pilots work hard for their successes and prove you are never too young or too old to go after your dreams. We wish you all the best in your aviation careers!
Tailwheel Endorsement – Fred Schulze
Apr 18 2018Aircraft: Citabria 7ECA
Instructor: Jen Watson
Location: San Jose, CA (KRHV)
Congrats on another notch in your pilot belt, Fred! After completing training for his Private Pilot License with us, Fred moved on to a complex aircraft endorsement and has now added tailwheel endorsement to his credentials. He is also attending our IFR Ground School and plans to continue on with instrument, commercial and flight instructor. We can’t wait to have him teaching with us and encouraging others to have his passion for aviation. Keep the dirty side down and have fun exploring the green countryside with your newfound love of taildragging!
New Commercial Pilot – Nishant Veluthedath
Aug 03 2017Date: July 28, 2017
Instructor: Ron Vlastelica
Certification: Commercial Pilot
On Friday, Nishant met with Vince Nastro in Tracy. Nishant had previously done both his private and instrument ratings with Vince. The day started out with light winds and cooler temperatures. By the time the flight portion started around 1330, the temperature was 33 degrees C. Winds were picking but under 10kt. When they arrived back for their landings and 180 engine-out, the winds were 270 at 18 with gusts to 24 kt.
Examiner: Vice Nastro
Aircraft: Cessna N4604V
Checkride Location:
Tracy, CA (KTCY)
Tailwheel Endorsement – Hamish Kebbell
Jul 27 2017Aircraft: Citabria 7KCAB
Instructor: Batelle Rachmian
Location: San Jose, CA (KRHV)
Australian pilot and traveler, Hamish came to AeroDynamish once again to do some fun flying. In previous years he flew our Cessna 172RG complex aircraft. This time he earned his tailwheel endorsement on July 17th with Batelle and took N1701H on a 30-hour cross-country trip north. Sounds like the right way to spend 10 days of vacation! Thanks for flying with us!
New Sport Pilot – Martin Ellis
Jul 03 2017Date: June 22, 2017
Instructor: Jason Brown
Certification: Sport Pilot
Way to go, Martin! Despite life’s chores (why do we have to have jobs?) getting in the way of scheduling, Martin put in the effort to complete his Sport Pilot certification with instructor Jason. His checkride with Scott including have the FAA sit in during the oral portion. Talk about pressure! But Martin handled it like a champ and earned his license on the first attempt. We are so happy for him! Congrats on all the hard work and have fun trolling the skies in the light, fun Evektor SportStar.
Examiner: Scott Rohlfing
Aircraft: SportStar N188EV
Checkride Location:
San Jose, CA (KRHV)
First Solo Flight – Andrew Kuo
Jul 03 2017Solo Date: June 18, 2017
Aircraft: Cessna 172
Instructor: David Waksberg
Location: San Jose, CA (KRHV)
For most people reaching the goal of first solo flight is a big achievement, but for Kuanlin “Andrew” Kuo it took incredible fortitude and commitment. Andrew had to complete all the tasks of any private pilot student. Due to vision issues, he also had to fight his way through getting a special medical issuance and passing a flight test (called a SODA) with Jeff Ebey, the man in charge of all pilot examiners and flight school operations at San Jose FSDO. Andrew passed with flying colors 😉 He and instructor David definitely earned the privilege to solo and are now continuing on to Private Pilot certification. Nice work, guys!
New Private Pilot – Chuang Wang
Jul 03 2017Date: June 17, 2017
Instructor: David Waksberg
Certification: Private Pilot
Woohoo, we have a new private pilot in our midst! Chuang flew through his checkride with pilot examiner Yuzo (pun intended). Thanks to the hard work of both Chuang and his intructor David, our newest licensed pilot will soon be one of those airplanes out buzzing the blue San Jose skies. Congrats to all who made this dream possible for him.
Examiner: Yuzo Wakita
Aircraft: Cessna N737ZD
Checkride Location:
San Jose, CA (KRHV)
First Solo Flight – Thao Do
Jul 03 2017Solo Date: May 27, 2017
Aircraft: Cessna 172
Instructor: Dick Chang
Location: San Jose, CA (KRHV)
A big shout out to Thao, who successfully completed her first solo flight in Cessna N12234. Instructor Dick Chang watched like a proud papa as Thao flew 3 takeoffs and landings on Runways 31R and 31L without him sitting next to her.
Thao came to AeroDynamic for an aerobatic thrill ride with our Chief Instructor, Jen, and she has become a cheery face at our school. She is an incredibly accomplished woman who is quickly adding “pilot” to her list of capabilities.
Thao filmed her flight to share with all of us, prospective and experienced pilots, her incredible experience. Click here to see her YouTube video.