|
Northern Air training Quest Aircraft pilots |
|
March 26, 2012 |
By Ashley Glaza
Despite the wet weather March has brought us,
student pilots have been working hard towards
earning their pilot certificates.
 |
| Kenny
Stidham |
With the addition of the Piper Comanche to the
fleet, Northern Air can now train Commercial
Pilots and Certified Flight Instructors and on
March 9, Kenny Stidham, Bonners Ferry earned his
Flight Instructor certification. Kenny is the
engineering test pilot for the Kodiak airplanes
built locally in Sandpoint by Quest Aircraft
Company.
This certificate gives him the opportunity to
instruct new Kodiak owners on how to fly these
unique planes. The Kodiak is a single engine
turboprop airplane designed to carry up to 10
passengers or large cargo loads into small or
remote locations.
The original purpose of the Kodiak was to
service missionary and humanitarian work in
remote parts of the world, however this
versatile plane is finding its niche in a
variety of business and personal ventures.
 |
|
Mike Stevens |
Quest Aircraft Company employs several of the
student pilots at Northern Air, and of those,
Mike Stevens, a certified airframe mechanic for
Quest, just became the newest Private Pilot on
March 24.
Mike came to Northern Air in October 2011 after
hearing about some of the unique training
opportunities available, such as learning to do
short and soft field landings and take-offs on
actual grass runways.
After a student has learned the basics of
landings, take-offs and emergency procedures and
safely completes their first solo flight, they
then are introduced to the more complex
maneuvers.
The student learns and develops better control
of the aircraft by practicing maneuvers such as
S-turns, turns around a point, rectangular
patterns, and steep turns while maintaining
constant speed and altitude.
You may have seen students practicing these
maneuvers if you have ever seen an airplane
flying in circles or appearing to swerve back
and forth up the valley to the north-west of the
airport.
The students are then introduced to aircraft
performance, and how to take off and land on
short and soft (such as grass or gravel)
runways.
Idaho is one of the premier locations for
back-country flying, with its numerous landing
strips located in the mountains and along rivers
and lakes, such as Cavanaugh Bay on Priest Lake.
Many pilots and student pilots dream of summer
days when they can fly in to a remote
backcountry strip with their camping gear and a
fishing pole to spend a few days alone in the
wilds of Idaho.
To learn more about the Kodiak airplanes built
in Sandpoint visit
www.questaircraft.com. For information of
the pilot training opportunities at Northern Air
you can call (208) 267-4359, or visit
www.northernair.biz. |
|
|
|
|
