Florida pilot becomes 2015 fourth quarter ‘Learn & Earn Safety Challenge’ winner
Flying bug bit him at an early age
Ask Michael Goertzen what compelled him to learn to fly, and he’ll explain that as a child he always enjoyed the view from the sky on commercial flights. But it was not until his youngest son became utterly attracted to all things aviation that Goertzen set out to take up flight training so he could spend time with his son doing something they both loved.
Goertzen, who became the fourth quarter winner in the 2015 AOPA Air Safety Institute “Learn & Earn Safety Challenge” credits the institute with helping him appreciate the importance of making safe flying decisions and successfully completing his private pilot and instrument training.
“Undoubtedly the courses helped me to not only pass my checkrides, but more importantly they helped me to make better decisions and ensure the safety of every flight,” Goertzen said. He continued, “This Christmas I traveled to visit family in Utah, and I decided it would be great fun to take them up for a sightseeing flight. However, I was somewhat nervous to fly at a high altitude through the mountains in the winter as all my flying to that point had been in Florida. With this in mind, I visited the Air Safety Institute website to familiarize myself with the challenges I would face prior to flying with a local flight instructor. I have to say ‘thank you’ as it not only made my time with the CFI more comfortable, but also prepared me to feel confident when I took to the air with my family.”
Goertzen won a Stratus 2 Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) receiver, courtesy of Sporty’s Pilot Shop, for actively participating in the 2015 safety challenge.
Are you ready for the new 2016 "Learn & Earn Safety Challenge"? Win access to seven proficiency training programs—valued at more than $1,500, and delivered online and on USB drives—from PilotWorkshops.com. You can take an interactive quiz to identify a course tailored specifically to your experience level and flying style, or go to your online transcript to identify eligible courses you wish to take. Not only will you be rewarded by gaining new knowledge while honing your flying skills, but any time you complete a course you will automatically receive an additional entry into the prize drawings—so take more courses to earn more chances to win.
The 2016 Air Safety Institute’s First Quarter “Learn & Earn Safety Challenge” is now open, so dive in!
