To All, This doesn't happen often, but today Rockwood "Rocky" Shepard passed the practical test and received his Private Pilot license. What makes his accomplishment unique is that he took the practical test in the RV-9A that he built himself.
I began flying with Rocky and providing instruction toward his license late last year. He just kept getting better and better and on those days where he was out flying solo on a cross country endorsement, he would challenge himself by flying to different airports, some controlled, some uncontrolled and by doing airwork maneuvers along the way.
He is very tuned in to his airplane, and is constantly making improvements. There were some maintenance items he had to deal with prior to the practical test. First, he cleaned all the spark plugs and when he put them back in, the engine ran rough. He worked through that problem, id'd the cold cylinder, and then the bad plug. As you may have read earlier today, he was replacing the battery and his pliers arced from the battery to a braided line under the cowl. He called a company that makes hoses and took their advice "definitely do not fly". He had them overnight a line, and was ready to fly today.
Congratulations Rocky! You da RV man! May we all follow your excellent example.
I began flying with Rocky and providing instruction toward his license late last year. He just kept getting better and better and on those days where he was out flying solo on a cross country endorsement, he would challenge himself by flying to different airports, some controlled, some uncontrolled and by doing airwork maneuvers along the way.
He is very tuned in to his airplane, and is constantly making improvements. There were some maintenance items he had to deal with prior to the practical test. First, he cleaned all the spark plugs and when he put them back in, the engine ran rough. He worked through that problem, id'd the cold cylinder, and then the bad plug. As you may have read earlier today, he was replacing the battery and his pliers arced from the battery to a braided line under the cowl. He called a company that makes hoses and took their advice "definitely do not fly". He had them overnight a line, and was ready to fly today.
Congratulations Rocky! You da RV man! May we all follow your excellent example.
