The Pilot
I started flying when I was 16 years old, soloed at 17 with 16 hours of flight time and eventually finished my training and passed the private pilot checkride at the age of 20 with about 64 total hours of training. I learned to fly at Cable Airport in a Cessna 152. I currently rent and fly a Cessna 172 out of French Valley and a Cessna 162 Skycatcher located at Hemet Ryan Airport. My “day job” is teaching middle school math and science; therefore, aviation is purely a hobby and passion for me. But my long term goals are to earn an instrument and commercial rating and eventually become a part-time Certified Flight Instructor.
The Mission
In addition to my long term goals of earning various ratings, I also have an ambitious goal to land at every public airport in California. The first goal is to land at every Southern California airport found on the Los Angeles sectional map (seen below). The goal is rather monstrous but thus far it has been an amazing experience sharing the love of flight with family and friends.
Red: All public airports. Green: Airports I have landed at.
View Larger Map
I hope this doesn’t sound a bit too crazy but I’m a recent Aviation Science (A.S.) grad from Mt. SAC and you’re idea of landing at every public airport in California is fantastic!! If you ever need flight planning done for you so as to aleviate certain pressures associated with your goal I’d be willing to help.
Congragulations on your recent graduation. My flight planning at this stage of the game is relatively simple but thanks for the offer. Best of luck to your career in aviation.
Impressive goal, Phil. Good luck with the endeavor and thanks for sharing the pictures & updates!
Nice, Phil!!!
EXCELLENT PHIL……I’M READY TO GO UP AGIAN ANYTIME
JONI
I love your pictures and wish you the best. I was fortunate enough to get a fair amount of flying time in California (Monterey area) and in Washington State while I was in the military, mostly in the Army and Navy Aero Clubs, and enjoyed every minute of it. Like you, I fly for the scenery and will never be a professional pilot. I now live on the East Coast and can say that there is no scenery that compares with the West Coast. Nevertheless, flying is still fun, and I now rent a C-162 which I very much enjoy. Great little airplane and tremendous visibility, but maybe a tad sensitive in the landing flair…most of my landings with it tend to be in the “uh oh, plop” category than smooth. A C-162 here outside of Washington D.C. rents for about $110 per hour. What’s the cost out there?
The Cessna 162 cost $125 per hour wet out here. Which is a really good price compared to the other nearby schools.
The Skycatcher is definitely light on the controls. It took me some time to really feel comfortable landing this aircraft as most of my time has been in a C-172. It really does want to stay in the air and is a fun aircraft to fly.
Thanks for the post.