Greetings! Thanks for stopping by.
My journey to become a pilot began in 2007 when a college buddy of mine stopped by in a brand new Mooney. He was on a trip from the LA basin to see family in Portland and we happened to be on the way. I've always been interested in flying as my father worked as a program manager and engineer for Northrop so there were always pictures of planes like the U2, SR-71, and towards his retirement, the B-2 Bomber. I wouldn't say flying was a "dream" of mine like so many other pilot's claim. I just thought it would be cool to someday learn to fly and own my own aircraft.
So when we went to the airport to pick up my friend, he asked if we wanted to go for a quick flight. Of course the answer was yes. Having only ever been in a plane twice before and that being a 737 both times, this small 4 seat Mooney was going to be awesome. It was a windy summer day, normal for this part of Oregon at 2 pm so the ride was quite a bit bumpy. It was still great fun. And when he told me to take the yoke I was nervous but surprised at how little resistance there was to controlling the plane. That was it though. From that moment on I knew I had to figure out a way to get a plane and learn to fly...
Through my research I decided a GA plane and a private pilot certificate was beyond my finances. Maybe an ultralight airplane? Hanger rent and other issues nixed that idea. Then I stumbled across something called a hang glider trike. Hmmm. Something I can keep in the garage, set up in a bout an hour, and take with me on a small trailer wherever I was going. This looked PERFECT!
As a child I had many dreams of flying a hang glider and trikes are, simply put, a hang glider with a seat and motor! Awesome... I lucked out and found the one guy in the area (Robert) that flew one and I got him to take me up for my 40th birthday. He was actually considering getting his CFI rating so he could teach people to fly. What luck!
I flew with him a bunch more times that summer before he left for California to complete his CFI training. When he came back, I purchased the Gleim Sport Pilot course and my log book started to get filled out. Robert opened a flight school, Sport Pilot Training Center, and I was his first student.
Next up was to get my own trike. I settled on a Cosmos Phase II with a Rotax 503 two stroke engine and a Northwing strutted Mustang II 17.5 meter wing. It is a registered Experimental Light Sport Aircraft (ELSA), the perfect learning tool for me. It took me about a year to get the hours needed and the confidence to take the FAA practical exam to become an actual certificated sport pilot, but I finally made it happen November 1, 2009.
So In this blog I will do my best to share the excitement of flying these awesome little aircraft through pictures, video, and writing. Hopefully you too will get hooked and learn to fly. There's nothing quite like being in charge of your own plane looking down on the world 2000 ft below, hanging out with soaring birds and relaxing in your flying hammock....
