Name: Bill Adams
Age: 52
Event: Solo
Where: Livermore, California (LVK)
Airplane: Aeronca Champ
Why be normal? My job takes me all over the country for short periods of time. So, my instruction cannot be normal. I have to take what I can get. In my case it turned out to be better than normal.
By the time I soloed, I had flown six different airplanes and had about half my time in tri-gear and half in tailwheel. I have flown high wing and low wing, tandem and side-by-side, a glass panel and an airplane with no electrical system that had to be hand-propped (my personal favorite). I just completed my first solo in a taildragger at a tower-controlled airport—a 1940s-era Aeronca Champ at Livermore, California. My instructor was Pete Eltgroth, with Red Sky Aviation. I had just as much fun (or more) as the person soloing in a tri-gear at a nontowered airport.
While all these differences did extend the length of my training a little, so far, they have also provided a more comprehensive (and more fun) learning experience. And, I am much farther along than if I had waited for more ideal circumstances.
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