Chris Bolkan - MK-IV HH with Rotax 582.

A little story with a happy begining:

I began my foray into aviation 3 years ago, learning to fly ultralight aircraft for about a year. I fell in love.
After much homework and consultation I determined that for the type of flying I ultimately wanted to do, true ultralight aircraft did not meet my requirements. After much research, and consultation with respected friends, I settled on Avid. It was the best quality, design, construction, flight envelope, capability, economy etc. and was THE choice for me. I hunted for some time and found a beautiful little Avid for sale and fell in love, so I bought it. Since my Avid could not be flown as an ultralight, I got a student pilot certificate to tide me over until the Sport Pilot cert became a reality. I found an instructor willing to take my inexperienced ass up in it while I learned to fly it. I soloed it and flew and flew, every 90 days getting the necessary endorsement, while waiting for the Sport Pilot cert to become reality. Finally I got so fed up waiting for SP, that I took regular FAA ground school this past winter. I took both the Recreational pilot test and the private pilot differential test which set me up for both tickets.

This last weekend I finally took my oral and practical tests. I took the FAA examiner up in my little Avid and am happy to say I earned my recreational pilot certificate in it. It was a lot of work but I am happy I did it. I'm probably the only 300+ hour "student" the examiner has ever seen :) Anyway, I'm now on my way. I'll have to rent a plane with gyros to finish my full private certificate, but I've got two years to do that, and lots of support in that direction. I think it's a good begining. The examiner was extremely impressed with the Avid. Honestly, I think he was blown away with the little plane's capability and performance.

I wish the sport pilot cert were a reality. I think it's a great idea who's time has come. It certainly is the right cert for me, but who knows when it will actually happen? However, I have learned a lot going down this path too.

Chris Bolkan