Busy times at Northern Air
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| JJ and Buzz Hale and the Thunder Bee. |
The summer just seems to keep on going and everyone is taking advantage of it.
September 29 was the last huckleberry pancake feed of the season at the airport and there have already been cries for more. It was a smoky but beautiful day with another great turnout of locals and pilots.
JJ and Buzz Hale of Victor, Montana stole the show with their immaculate 1947 SeaBee flying boat. Also knows as the Thunder Bee, this beautiful plane was decked out with an all leather interior, state of the art instruments, and retrofitted with a modern Chevy LS 1 engine (think Corvette).
It was awarded grand champion seaplane at Sun and Fun International Air Show in Florida, and reserve grand champion at Oshkosh in 2011. Buzz and JJ spent Friday night camped on the lawn at the Boundary County Airport and enjoyed the breakfast while showing off their beautiful plane before heading off to Priest Lake and the Bird Aviation Museum south of Sandpoint.
The Huckleberry Pancake Breakfasts, hosted by the local EAA Chapter 757, are not only great social gatherings, but also local fundraising events. The proceeds of these breakfasts are put into a Flight Training Scholarship fund and awarded annually to a Boundary County high school student.
The EAA has raised enough funds to provide five scholarships over the last four years and this year there will be more!
If you know of a young Boundary County resident between the ages of 16-18 who is interested in aviation have them contact Northern Air at 208 267 4359 or access the details of the flight scholarship application process on the EAA website www.757.eaachapter.org/scholarship.htm.
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| Ashley Glaza |
A complex airplane is one that has retractable landing gear, flaps, and a constant speed propeller. Both Kevin and Ashley are working toward their commercial pilot license, which requires a minimum of ten hours of flight time in a complex aircraft.
Katherine Boger, the winner of the 2012 Bronson Parsons Memorial Scholarship, took her first solo flight on September 26. Katherine is following her dreams to make aviation her career.
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| Paula Lee |
Paula and her husband, Jan, are now a pilot team ready to cruise the world if they find time in their busy lives! We hope we still see them every now and then, cruising by in their Piper Comanche.
Trey Haworth took his first solo flight on October 4. Trey made his successful landings and then bounded back into the terminal like a schoolboy to celebrate.
Trey, who is also a scuba diver, did not hide his excitement to have taken his first solo flight!
There is mystery and adventure that lies beyond solid ground and anyone who has ever been a scuba diver or a pilot can attest to the thrill it brings and there seems to be a strong correlation between the scuba divers and pilots.
Northern Air would like congratulate all the new and student pilots who are making such great progress.
Anyone interested in exploring the mystery and adventure of aviation is encouraged to come out to the airport.
Northern Air is now on Facebook (northern air inc.), so if you would like to keep track of what goes on at the airport and who the new and up-and-coming pilots are, log on and click the Like button, give us a call at (208) 267-4359 or visit www.northernair.biz.