One down....

That's right, Scott officially became a private pilot on April 12, 2013!

He has worked extremely hard for the past 6 months to obtain this.  Earning this license entailed him going to countless hours of ground school and studying, clocking around 60 hours (10 of which were solo hours) of flight time in the helicopter, 3 stage checks, an FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) written exam, and an FAA check ride.

Just to clarify..

*Each of the 3 stage checks consisted of:  a 2-hour oral exam, and 2-hour practical flight exam (which was basically a drivers test, but in the air).

*The FAA written exam was a written test, which Scott got 100% on.  (Nobody at Mountain Ridge has ever got that high of a score!)

*The FAA check ride was a 2-hour oral test with an FAA examiner, and a 2-hour practical flight exam with an FAA examiner.

He makes a hot pilot, right?

One down, 4 licenses to go--Instrument rating, commercial certificate, Certified Flight Instructor (CFI), and Certified Flight Instrument Instructor (CFII).

He is now allowed to legally fly any helicopter under 12,500 pounds.  The red helicopter behind him is a Robinson-22 (R-22).  They are dinky helicopters, but that makes them very difficult to fly because they are so light and squirly in the air.  This is what he has been training in up to this point.

He's amazing.  I'm proud of him and all he is accomplishing.  Even though everything about being a helicopter pilot is scary, he enjoys it and is learning new things and improving every day.