Lots of learning at Northern Air
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March 26, 2013 |
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Monica
Johnson, 16, Bonners Ferry, is all
smiles after making her first solo
flight just four days after her
birthday! |
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By Ashley Glaza
Spring is in the air. The crocuses are sprouting
and so are the new pilots! Monica Johnson,
Bonners Ferry, took her first solo flight in a
Cessna 172 on February 28, just four days after
her 16th birthday (the minimum age to solo). Her
solo was right on the heels of her older sister
Ericka, who soloed in October of last year on
her 16th birthday.
Ericka and Monica are continuing their flight
training in their family’s Cessna 150 and hope
to get their pilots licenses when they turn 17!
It is a beautiful thing to watch a person grow
up and follow their dream, and even more so when
you can be a part of that process.
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Tammy
Blanford |
Northern Air is also proud to announce that
Tammy Blanford, Bonners Ferry, has earned her
Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) certification, the
highest certification a pilot can receive.
Tammy learned to fly with Dave Parker when he
first opened for business as Northern Air in
1997. She then attended the University of North
Dakota, where she earned her commercial license,
instrument rating, multi-engine rating,
Certified Flight Instructor certificate, and
Certified Flight Instructor for Instruments
Certificate.
She graduated summa cum laude in 2001 with a
Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautics and a
major in commercial aviation. After graduation,
she returned to Northern Air as a flight
instructor and spent five years teaching others
the joy of aviation and helping them achieve
lifelong dreams of learning to fly.
Becoming a flight instructor is a great way for
new commercial pilots to gain the hours and
experience needed before being hired on to other
commercial flying operations.
With all that new experience under her belt, she
followed her dream and was hired to fly for
Piedmont Airlines and then Horizon Airlines as a
first officer.
In February, Tammy passed her ATP exam.
In the past, the Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA) only required airline captains to have
their ATP certificate, and first officers only
needed a commercial license. In September of
this year, the FAA will implement a new rule to
require all airline pilots, captains and first
officers, to have the ATP Certificate.
Tammy is now only one step away from being an
airline captain. Congratulations from all of us
at Northern Air!
Northern Air’s new Citabria tailwheel airplane
has been put to work already with several pilots
working on their tailwheel endorsements, or just
getting refreshed on the tailwheel.
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Joel Cook |
Joel Cook, Creston, earned his tailwheel
endorsement February 26. Joel came to Northern
Air as young snowboard enthusiast to earn his
private pilot license in 2010 and quickly got
the flying “bug."
He continued on to earn his instrument rating in
2011 and now his tailwheel.
He is currently in Kelowna, BC, earning his
float plane rating and getting some good
mountain flying experience.
His goal is to come back to Northern Air to earn
his commercial pilot license and eventually
start working as a bush pilot somewhere in
British Columbia or the Yukon.
Roman Oberemok came to us from Spokane with a
new-to-him Cessna 337, which is an in-line twin
engine airplane (one engine in front and one in
the rear instead of one on each wing).
Northern Air instructor Wayne Sommers worked
with him to earn his twin engine rating on
February 28.
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Kevin
Breneman |
On March 25 Kevin Breneman, Bonners Ferry,
earned his tailwheel endorsement. Kevin received
his instrument rating at Northern Air and is
currently working on his commercial license.
Northern Air has made a lot of changes lately,
the latest of which is the addition of a PSI-LaserGrade
computer testing center.
The center is authorized to administer FAA
knowledge exams for aviation fields as well as
other exams for government and state licensing,
professional associations and IT certification.
This is a benefit to all the aviation students
here as well as those in Sandpoint and other
neighboring areas, as the closest testing
facilities were historically located in Spokane
and Kalispell.
To register for an FAA or other exam go to
www.lasergrade.com, visit
http://northernair.biz or call Northern Air
at (208) 267-4359. |
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