Acme Aviation

Testimonials/References
1) Steve Adams
2) Jack Bernard
3) Andrew Jayne
4) Tommy Fogarty
5) Gary Grant

Notes on Learning to Fly...

I first began flight training with another instructor, in fact two instructors. Although they proved to be satisfactory, for various reasons I drifted away from them and had the good fortune to meet Shawn Kelly at the Watsonville Fly In, May 2005. I really consider my flight instruction to have begun with him.

First of all, it is hard to miss the bright yellow Piper J-3 Cub that he uses as his primary training aircraft. I immediately recognized the significance of this aircraft and realized how extraordinary it would be to have the opportunity to learn to fly this way. What I suspected, and had confirmed by several experienced pilots I know, was that learning to fly in a tail-dragger would equip me with a better set of skills than I would otherwise develop were I to train in a tricycle gear airplane and that these skills would be more readily transferable to other types of aircraft later on. In fact, many of them made the comment that they wished they could have learned to fly in this manner. This all seemed good to me.

What I sensed, but did not know for certain until I went up with Shawn for the first time was just exactly what kind of instructor he is. He is the kind that loves to teach. Perhaps the one thing that demonstrates this most clearly is the fact that he is patient with those of us in the process of learning to fly which is unfamiliar and quite often counterintuitive. This is evident both in the classroom setting and, perhaps more importantly, in the air, where things can get a little busy at times especially for a new student that suddenly sees a juggernaut of facts, figures, and procedures coming at him or her. Save for the rare individual, this is quite often an overload of information making it possible to only absorb a limited amount at a time. Shawn understands this too, but is quite willing to gently nudge you along if he thinks you are ready to take on a little more responsibility in the cockpit.

His system of instruction places an emphasis on the use of vision as well as a feel for the aircraft much like what was taught decades ago. This method is enhanced by the fact that the Cub has very few instruments to distract the VFR pilot-in-training from looking outside of the aircraft. Lest you be fooled into thinking that because he can not see what you are doing or not doing in the cockpit due to the tandem seating arrangement, forget it. If you are not trimmed properly he will know because your speed will be all over the place. If you are struggling with your landings and making mistakes like stopping the decent too soon and not getting the plane into a landing pitch attitude he will know that you are not keeping your eyes fixed at the end of the runway and/or not using your peripheral vision to monitor the decent. What he teaches works and if you follow these procedures things will happen correctly.

In the course of several conversations with other student pilots as well as certified pilots I have become aware of what I have learned. Discussions often turn to specific flying techniques and I am amazed to find out that some people don’t understand the concept of a stabilized approach, how to feel by “the seat of your pants” how much rudder to apply in a turn, or how to S-turn and fly circles around a point by monitoring your ground speed and not fixating on a stationary object.

At this stage, my experience and skill level is limited, but I can comfortably say that I will not look back at my learning experience and feel that I missed out or did not get my moneys worth. In many respects, as a result of Shawn’s instruction, I feel as though I am “ahead” of other student pilots and perhaps some certified pilots.

Andrew Jayne
Monterey
2006

Light Sport Airplanes West - Flight Training Center:
Salinas Airport Terminal Building
70 Mortensen Avenue, Salinas CA 93905
Phone: 831.754 2263
info@acme-aviation.com

Office Hours
9am-5pm Every Day
[Please call for appointments]
Flying Lessons
Any Day, Any Time - by appointment.

Acme Aviation is the official flight training school for Light Sport Airplanes West. We show and train in our Piper J3 Clipped Wing Cub and Cessna 140 tailwheel aircraft. Light Sport Airplanes West is the West Coast Distributor for the state-of-the-art Evektor Sports Star, Flight Design CT Cruiser, Tecnam Bravo, Tecnam Sierra and Allegro.
Our aircraft, instructors, syllabus and service are first class. Try a $49 intro flight and find out why we are one of the best flight schools in the Bay Area.