Aviation is Hazardous to your Wallet!
Flying is expensive. However, it is so much fun, that once the aviation bug bites you – there is no way back!
FAA Certification
I hold FAA Commercial Pilot certificate with Glider rating and a Private Pilot for ASEL (Aircraft Single Engine Land). I also have the FAA Advanced Ground Instructor certification. My airplane flight training started in 1990 in West Valley Flying Club at the Palo Alto, California (PAO) airport. In 2002, I have received my glider rating in Hollister, California.
Airplane Ownership
In the 1990s, I was a proud owner of a small airplane: Maule MX7-180A (1994). Maule is a STOL, a great bush plane. As a result of that experience, I discovered that there is great truth in the old saying that airplane owners are happy twice: once when they buy, and again when they sell.
Perfect Touchdown!
Landing at the Kelly Airpark (CO15) at the end of another great flight. (Please note that the glider has not yet touched the ground.) Kelly is a private airstrip that is a base of my gliding club: Black Forest Soaring Society.
Non-renewable Resource
General aviation airports are truly “endangered species”. They are being closed in the USA at the rate of two per week, never to reopen.
Glider Rides
As a commercial pilot, I often fly scenic glider rides that our club offers to the public. It is an unforgettable and gratifying experience for both the passenger and the pilot. For example, this selfie was taken in flight by the passenger in the front seat.
Ready For Takeoff
At the general aviation terminal of the Colorado Springs Airport (COS), where I sometimes take to the skies.
Aviation Equipment Corner
My pilot’s watch: Marathon WW194013. Marathon is a Swiss company that is the only watch supplier to the U.S. military. Therefore, they spend zero effort on marketing their watches – your order comes to you in an unmarked cardboard box.