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future RV pilot - 1st solo!

OneCharlieKilo

Well Known Member
proud dad moment so had to share....a week before his 18th birthday, my son solo'd a Citabria today as he works towards his Private! Here he is with his CFI after the milestone flight:

Justin-1stSolo(small).jpg


He took his first flight with me in a rented Ce-152 when he was about 4 and a half, flew a lot of hours with me in the Ce-140 we used to own, and has a lot of right seat time in our RV-6A since I got it to Phase II in early 2009, including a round trip to OSH from CA in 2009. He actually earned his first flight lesson through the EAA Young Eagles program that gives Young Eagles a voucher for free first flight lesson when they complete the Sporty's on-line course that is offered free to YE kids. When we got home that day, just a few weeks ago, he counted up all the change in his bedroom "piggy bank" and came to see me about whether I'd pay the balance of what he didn't have for a second lesson....seems that he was ready to get serious about earning his ticket!
Looking forward to getting him some RV transition training when he's ready, after getting his Private!

Fun to recall the good times and memories when his aviation interest really got started, back when he was shorter than me and our Ce-140 was big enough for both of us to go camping with!! Arlington 2004:

Arlington2003FlyIn1.JPG


And just so there's an RV pic in this thread, here we are just a bit short of our OSH 2009 destination in our first "real" RV cross-country trip together, waiting in Portage, WI for the post-airshow field opening so we could get into OSH and pitch our tent:

Oshkosh(2009)PortageWIstop097.JPG
 
solo

Chris,

Good for you!!!!! You are blessed to have a responsible son that enjoys the things that you enjoy. It didn't work out that way for me, but I'm hoping there will be a grandchild sooner or later that will enjoy RVs and old tractors. Tell him I said "congratulations"!!!!
 
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how did it work?

Congratulations. My son is interested in learning to fly and I am trying to find out the options. So far the options I got are the CAP and private lessons. Did your son get instruction through a FBO or CAP?
 
local FBO school

Congratulations. My son is interested in learning to fly and I am trying to find out the options. So far the options I got are the CAP and private lessons. Did your son get instruction through a FBO or CAP?

He is using one of the local flight schools, AeroDynamics at KRHV. They accepted his EAA Young Eagles voucher for the first flight and is making great progress and having a great time.
CAP seems to have a great program for kids, but I think it's beyond just an opportunity for flight training as I believe there are many additional committments for the kids in the CAP units.

I recommend you get your son a Young Eagles ride through your local EAA chapter and let him take advantage of the on-line ground school and flight lesson opportunity, then see how his interest peaks beyond that.
 
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