STAFF & MEMBER NEWS

Written by Charlie Wood

Just let me tell you that I am proud to be a member of the Royal Aero Club of WA because of your commitment to flight safety and your superb flight training staff.

I am an 84-year-old American pilot with a 45 year, 20,000+ flying hour accident-free career behind me. My nephew Shawn Taylor told me he was going to learn how to fly, and asked me for advice on how to be a safe pilot. I was in the process of writing a pre-flight primer on just that subject, and I sent Shawn a draft copy of the book. Shawn read the draft shortly after becoming a member of the Royal Aero Club of WA and soloed on April 19th this year, and sent me an email describing how my advice had almost mirrored what CFI Dave Schneiker had taught him. The way Shawn described the excellence of the Royal Aero Club of WA not only made me want to become a member, but it turned out to be the last chapter of my book FLY THE AIRPLANE!

Fly safe, Charlie Wood

Written by Sharon Williams

I did my first solo. That means I flew a plane. All by myself. After doing a few routine circuits, my instructor got out. Just like that.

There may have been a swear word. I may have grabbed his arm in a brief flurry of nerves. I may have asked him if he was sure, really sure?

Apparent he was.

So I took off alone. No one to say, “How fast are you going?”

Or “Have you seen that plane at 11 o’clock?”

Or to save you from crashing to the ground when landing after you cut the power 100 feet in the air!

And I did it. I took off. I landed. And a few bits and bobs in between. After 10 months of blood, sweat and a LOT of tears - I flew a bloody plane.

Reasons not to fly:

1. Flying is expensive - I could feed a whole town of homeless people for months with the money I’ve spent.

2. I see my instructor more than I see my family and friends put together. He’s nice, but I do like my family and friends too!

3. Setting goals to go solo by your birthday means rescheduling many clients, sometimes at short notice. Luckily my clients are all uber high achievers and totally got behind me sending texts like, “Happy to reschedule this one, you need to go solo by your birthday!”

And we did it, with 5 days to spare in case you’re wondering…

Reasons to fly:

Just one. It makes me feel alive. No matter what is going on in my life I can escape when I take to the skies. It’s intoxicating. It’s exhilarating. The cockpit is my happy place. A massive thank you to everyone who has helped me get here. A special thanks to my incredibly patient, perceptive and unshakeable instructor.