Name: Spencer Rice
Age: 17
Event: Private pilot checkride
Where: Lenhardt Airpark Airport (7S9), Hubbard, Oregon
Airplane: Cessna 172
Spencer Rice (right) with designated pilot examiner Forest Lanning.
When I was 11, I would watch the airplanes fly at a very small airport next to my family’s beach house. One day I just had to meet a pilot. I asked my parents to take me to the airport. I met the pilot and I don’t remember the exact words he and I exchanged, but I do remember him telling me about EAA. When I got home I looked for more info on EAA and learned about their Young Eagles program. I nagged my parents until they agreed to let me contact the local coordinator. I was set up with a flight in a small Experimental called a Zenith Zodiac 601. I remember the takeoff very well, and I was hooked! I started flying lessons at age 13. I told my parents if I was going to pursue my dream in aviation that it would be by my own funding. They would front money to me but I would always pay it back. I mowed lawns to pay for my training. Later I worked two part-time jobs plus my lawn business and, of course, going to school. I flew as often as I could afford it and my instructors were very helpful in this situation, allowing me to pay on a monthly basis. The connections I have made in the aviation community amaze me. Everyone truly cares and wants to see your success. I am happy to be a part of it.
‘Stops and starts’
Moving forward in his own airplane
Name: Mike Beckett
Age: 34
Event: Solo
Where: Pierce County-Thun Field Airport (PLU), Puyallup, Washington
Airplane: Cessna 150
I had a lot of stops and starts with my training. It’s been a multiyear project. Purchasing N7021S, a 1968 Cessna 150H, has been the best boost to moving forward with my training. Within a few short weeks and a few more hours of instruction I soloed! Accomplishing this in my own airplane made it so much more sweeter, memorable, and exciting!
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