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Beautiful blue skies draw pilots
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September 18, 2012 |
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By Ashley Glaza
Northern Air
Not a cloud in the sky! And it looks like it’s
going to stay that way for a while, which is
good news for aviators and we have had a lot of
them at the airport this summer! There have been
all sizes and shapes of airplanes and all kinds
of pilots from locals just cruising the valley
and stopping in for an ice cream; to tourists
taking in the sites of beautiful North Idaho and
borrowing a car to head in to town for a meal;
to business men and women aboard private or
chartered jets heading to important meetings in
the far reaches of the country.
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Questair
Venture |
Recently Jerry Mercer of Hurricane, Utah flew in
in his Questair Venture, a zippy little
two-seater home-built that cruises at 220 knots.
He and his wife stayed here for a few days
looking at property and then just zipped over to
Ann Arbor, Michigan, to catch a football game, a
flight that only took them five and a half
hours.
Last Wednesday, Gerald Morse, a cinematographer
for Lucas Films, stopped in for fuel. His little
blue Bellanca Citabria tail-dragger adorned with
GoPro video cameras on every wheel and wing
strut in various positions so that he could
capture the beauty of the Northwest from the
air. He is hoping to make a film of his
five-week adventure for National Geographic.
 A Cessna CJ3, Citation jet stopped in for fuel
and to pick up four passengers before rocketing
off to San Diego for a meeting. Some small jets
like these can land here at the Boundary County
airport, but due to the short runway length here
they are limited in the amount of fuel that they
can take on.
And if you have notice that large black
helicopter flying around the area, it’s a U.S.
Customs and Border Protection, UH-60 Blackhawk
helicopter that stopped in for fuel while doing
some work in the area.
Though the air around Boundary County has been
clear and blue this summer there have been fires
burning all around us, and two of Northern Air’s
planes have spent the majority of the summer
helping fight fires all across the western
states.
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Tony Azuyak |
Northern Air’s flight school has been going
strong this summer and Chief Flight Instructor,
Nathaniel Cheshire has been busy with a constant
stream of student pilots, and ten currently
working towards their licenses. His most recent
graduates are Tony Azuyak and Dominic Bovey.
Tony Azuyak and his wife, Peggy, both teachers
from Kodiak, Alaska, arrived in Bonners Ferry
for Tony to complete his commercial pilot
certification. Tony had completed his private
pilot certificate at Northern Air in 2004 and
decided to come back for more. Tony flew his own
plane down from Alaska and used it in
combination with Northern Air’s Piper Comanche
to complete his certification which took him a
short but intense three weeks before heading
back north to start the new school year.
Dominic Bovey of Sandpoint completed his private
pilot license with us last summer, and this year
he dug right into his instrument rating,
pursuing his dream of becoming a missionary
pilot. He also had a strict deadline to finish
before heading off to school at the end of
August and he made it one day ahead of schedule.
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Dominic Bavey |
For those who are interested in learning to fly,
Private Pilot Ground School will be held at
Northern Air starting September 24, on Mondays
and Thursdays from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Anyone who is
interested in becoming a pilot can contact
Northern Air for more details at (208) 267-4359
or visit
www.northernair.biz.
The Huckleberry Pancake Breakfasts have been a
hit this year, with great participation from
locals and pilots from afar. The last breakfast
of the season will be held on September 29, so
come out for the final feed! The donations go
towards the Flight Training Scholarship Fund
that will be awarded this December.
Local Bonners Ferry students between the ages of
16 and 18 who are interested learning to fly are
encouraged to apply by December 1. For details
on how to apply go to the EAA website
www.757.eaachapter.org and click on
Scholarship or call 208 267 4359.
Last year’s scholarship winner is Nathan Negoi,
who is currently preparing for his first solo
flight.
The Bronson Parsons Memorial Scholarship is
being awarded again this year. Last year Paul
and Carolyn Parsons of Troy, Montana, donated
$2000 toward flight training at Northern Air in
memory of their son Bronson, who learned to fly
here.
Last year’s scholarship was awarded to Katherine
Boger, Bonners Ferry, who completed ground
school last January and is currently working
towards her first solo flight. The Parsons would
like to award the Scholarship to a student from
the Troy area but others will be considered. If
interested, please use the same guidelines as
the EAA scholarship found on the EAA website
above or call (208) 267-4359 for more
information.
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