Executive Flyers January 2004 Newsletter
Congratulations to:
Shaun Campbell
for soloing; Renee Whitton for passing her instrument flight instructor checkride, Tim Bonner for getting his commercial, multi-engine rating in November (sorry for the late entry, Tim) and Biff Newton and Michael Millman for winning the monthly drawing of an hour of instruction or a month’s dues.
Happy New Year
The instructors and staff of Executive Flyers wish you a happy new year. The past year has been a slow one for flying, probably due to the uncertainty with the California economy. Hopefully, the problems will start to resolve this year and the economy will follow the stock market’s rise.
Pinch Hitter Course
We’ll be teaching a course for non-pilots who fly with their significant others in late March. This “flying companion” course will consist of three hours of ground school and three hours of flying. It will prepare a non-pilot to take over the plane in an emergency, talk on the radio and navigate to an airport for a safe landing. The cost for the course will be $50 plus the cost for the plane and instructor. If your friend or spouse has been hesitant to fly with you, let them know about this course. Call the office to sign up. We’ll set the date later this month.
Ground Schools
Private ground school starts Tuesday, January 6th and the instrument ground school starts on Monday, January 12th. The schools will be taught in the evenings, twice a week for about 10 weeks. The cost is $150 for members and $200 for non-members, plus books and supplies.
If you already have the license or rating, you may audit the courses for half price to brush up on your aeronautical knowledge. Call the office to sign up for either course.
Watch out for:
1) Ducks and geese at almost any altitude near Executive airport. They aren’t very good at judging the closure rate with an airplane, so it’s up to you to miss them. If you have a choice, go over them rather than under, as they tend to dive when threatened.
2) Very strong winds and/or rapidly changing weather. Last week we had four knots of wind at the surface and 50(!) knots at 3000 feet. Fog can come in rapidly and shut down the whole valley. Call the F.S.S. or check DUAT before any flight, even a local one.
3) Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs) around the president, dams, outdoor gatherings, etc. To find the current TFRs, go to http://www.aopa.org/whatsnew/notams.html or ask your briefer at the F.S.S. You can loose your license for 90 days or more if you bust a TFR.
Email addresses, please
In order to keep our postage costs down, we are using an on line billing system. We send many of the statements and newsletters over the internet. In order to do that for you, we’ll need your email address. Please send it to us when you mail in your payments after the next statement, or just send them to me at callaway@execflyers.com. If you don’t have or don’t want to use your email address, please let me know.
Student Starts
Flight students keep our planes flying and our instructors working. If you know someone who is interested in flying, but just hasn’t gotten started for some reason, recommend that he fly with us. If he or she puts your name on his application, we’ll put $60 on your account. Tell them about Beapilot.com and the introductory ride certificate. Or get them an Executive Flyers gift certificate for an hour of flight. Many thanks for your help.
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last modified January 3, 2004 by
callaway@execflyers.com