Tuesday, June 11th, 2024
Burlington Municipal Airport, Burlington, Wisconsin
It was a gorgeous late spring morning in South East Wisconsin when it was finally time. After months of dedicated study, ground school, and flight training, Austin Pohjola’s flight instructor knew it was ready for the first solo. Austin had been getting close to soloing for several weeks now but after some bad luck with spring-time Wisconsin winds, the conditions were just right to let the aspiring young aviator try his hand at flying for the first time…all alone….with no safety net of an experienced instructor standing by to save the day. Austin’s flight instructor, Mickey Ferguson, advised him that morning, “You will be there all by yourself. You are the Pilot in Command. You must make the decisions and be ready for an emergency or malfunction.”
Austin well understood and was able to step up to the challenge. Upon landing after his solo flight and when asked how he felt before the flight, Austin replied, “I really was quite nervous when getting ready to go and taxiing out. But as soon as I was airborne, all of that nervousness left me and I felt very comfortable.” This milestone puts Austin about one third of the way through his quest for obtaining his Private Pilot License and he still has a lot in front of him with getting more experience and training to achieve the prerequisites and level of proficiency to test with the FAA. When asked about Austin’s potential to finish, Ferguson answered, “With the support of the Eagles Nest program, Parents, Mentors, and our generous sponsors, I know that Austin will get this finished up soon and go on to bigger and better things in the aerospace industry.”
Burlington Municipal Airport, Burlington, Wisconsin
It was a gorgeous late spring morning in South East Wisconsin when it was finally time. After months of dedicated study, ground school, and flight training, Austin Pohjola’s flight instructor knew it was ready for the first solo. Austin had been getting close to soloing for several weeks now but after some bad luck with spring-time Wisconsin winds, the conditions were just right to let the aspiring young aviator try his hand at flying for the first time…all alone….with no safety net of an experienced instructor standing by to save the day. Austin’s flight instructor, Mickey Ferguson, advised him that morning, “You will be there all by yourself. You are the Pilot in Command. You must make the decisions and be ready for an emergency or malfunction.”
Austin well understood and was able to step up to the challenge. Upon landing after his solo flight and when asked how he felt before the flight, Austin replied, “I really was quite nervous when getting ready to go and taxiing out. But as soon as I was airborne, all of that nervousness left me and I felt very comfortable.” This milestone puts Austin about one third of the way through his quest for obtaining his Private Pilot License and he still has a lot in front of him with getting more experience and training to achieve the prerequisites and level of proficiency to test with the FAA. When asked about Austin’s potential to finish, Ferguson answered, “With the support of the Eagles Nest program, Parents, Mentors, and our generous sponsors, I know that Austin will get this finished up soon and go on to bigger and better things in the aerospace industry.”
