Flying in Puerto Rico

My wife and I did a Caribbean cruise that started and ended in Puerto Rico. We did the usual tourist stuff there in San Juan and just for fun, added something unusual.

I rented a Cessna 172 from Isla Grande Flying School and went on sightseeing flight with a CFI, Gustavo. The rates were affordable and it was very helpful to have Gustavo along for the ride. The flight itself was smooth and it was very interesting to learn about the airspace there and get a top down view of the countryside.

West Valley Flying Club

I'm a member of West Valley Flying Club in Palo Alto. The club has a grown a lot since I first joined and now has four locations, Palo Alto, San Carlos, Hayward and South County.

The club has a great web page www.wvfc.org, a lot of planes on line, a great roster of qualified instructors and a really nice computerized reservation system. I'm currently flying Cessna 172s and 172SPs and Piper Warriors and Archers. I'm doing some training in Cirrus SR20s and SR22s and also in a Piper Saratoga. My first priority however is to finish up that instrument rating!

Flying Lessons on the Big Island of Hawaii

Tropic Bird is a great place to take a flying lesson on the big island.

http://tropicbirdflightservice.com/

I took a lesson here with Mike Lauro. He is a very capable pilot and an interesting guy. Even though I already had my license and about 100 hours, did not want to get checked out to fly his plane by myself. The airspace is surprisingly busy and I felt safer having Mike there in the right seat with me. My wife went along for the ride and thought the view of the island was fabulous.