Double Trouble!

Pilots,

Please join me in congratulating two champions of the sky who earned their wings today! U.S. Private Pilot Matt P., and U.S. Private Pilot Eric O.

Grounded this morning under the murk above, these two managed to knock out their licenses with DPE Tom Hamm, who must have felt tossed like a relay baton from one flyer to the next today. A most especial thanks to Tom for accommodating our friends.

Eric O. flew in Cessna 1ES, and was assisted by CFIs Arty and Jeremy.

Matt P. flew in Cessna 68U, and was assisted by CFI Dave. (and perhaps one or two others)



A particularly excellent Kudo to Matt, whose written exam was set to expire today, and who enjoyed the benefits of astronomical blood pressure caused by broken planes (not ours!), frequent weather cancellations, and the looming reality of an imminent 100hr (ok, ours), upon whose completion he leapt from like a frog on a lilypad. Way to tempt fate, Matt! Let's hope your piloting career is less eventful than this roller coaster was! :)

Two most excellent achievements today, gentlemen.

Congratulations Eric!

Congratulations Matt!






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In other news,

Cessna 08V is due back with a shiny new rear stabilizer tomorrow.

Cessna 1ES completed her 100hr this weekend.

Cessna 68U completed her 100hr this weekend.

Iffy mornings are in the neighborhood lately... bad news for 7am flyers. The afternoons remain nice, with some of that inversion layer haze we all love to chew through.. keep a vigilant eye over the practice areas!

Blue Skies!

- Mike

Congratulations, Dave!!

Pilots,

Please join me in congratulating our own CFI Dave for his acceptance of his new position as First Officer flying a Learjet 35 in charter operation. We will be transitioning Dave's students to other CFIs in the upcoming weeks as he prepares to wear a starchy shirt and say "sir" a lot more than he's used to.

In our opinion, this can only mean one thing:



Dave will be based out of F70 French Valley Airport, so be sure to do some nice lazy cessna-grade touch n goes in Temecula, to keep that hotshot stuck at the runup area! (...caution wake turbulence if he disagrees...)

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In other news,

Cessna 20U is undergoing her 100hr inspection as planned.

Cessna 08V was discovered to have eaten a rock on Saturday and we grounded her immediately pending investigation. A small crack was found on the rear stabilizer leading edge. The entire leading edge of the stabilizer will be replaced, downtime TBD. We don't mess around with structural squawks, so please bring these sorts of things to our attention immediately.

Cessna 17J completed her 100hr inspection.

Cessna 68U will be going in for her 100hr sometime next week.

Cessna 1ES will be following thereafter.

We have installed nacelle gear mirrors on Piper 85Y, for those who just don't want to bet their landing on a little green light.

Cessna 04H's engine is taking longer than anticipated due to the 160hp upgrade and oil filter addition. We expect 2 more weeks. She looks sad on the ramp. :(

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Gorgeous weather this week -- let's hope it holds!

Blue Skies,

- Mike

Fly Fly Corona Corona

Clear Prop, Clear Prop

Pilots!

Please welcome, most unexpectedly, our new friendly face on the flightline, N7185Y.



85Y is a Piper PA30 Twin Comanche, equipped with IFR GPS, DME, Autopilot, and of course, two engines.

With 120 gallons on board, 85Y can cruise 8 hours, or ~1,360nm!.




85Y is offered for Dual instruction for those interested in pursuing their MEL or MEI raitings, or if you would just like to feel what a "fist full of throttles" is like -- at $159/hr block, $199/hr retail.

A 1-hour Santa Catalina Demo will be $199 in 85Y. 30 minutes to Lake Elsinore and back $99.



Blue Skies!

- Mike

A new faculty face around the FlyC ranch...

Pilots!

Please join me in welcoming our newest Flight Instructor, Roman S.! Roman joins us from ATP, and is a CFI, CFII, and MEI instructor. Roman will be settling into the FlyC family over the next few days, and will be flying 7 days a week! -- if you see a strange face on a familiar FlyC shirt, introduce yourself and make him feel welcome!

Please let Roman know why Corona is the friendliest airport in the southland, and that FlyC has the best pilots and students around!



Some maintenance updates forthcoming -- the usual assortment of goodies. In the meantime, it appears that someone has ordered up some cottonball clouds for everyone to play around! Hooray for spring!



Blue Skies,

- Mike

New Pricing for 2007

Pilots,

It is spring! -- which means a review of flight school pricing is in order, to ensure that Fly Corona remains here throughout 2007.

As you know, we pride ourselves on being the fun place to fly, and we try to keep our pricing as low as possible, and I believe we continue to do a good job of this. As insurance, fuel, maintenance, and staffing costs increase, we must periodically nudge our pricing up commensurately, as is the way with all things.

Along these lines, I present to you the following change in our pricing. As always, we "grandfather" pricing on accounts to make the change gradual and not a surprise (nobody likes surprises in aviation), so the following will take effect on Monday, April 30:

All prices remain wet and insured -- after much debate, we have decided to leave the fuel surcharge in effect, despite ridiculous fuel pricing and no relief in sight. Our fuel surcharges remain as follows:

Fuel $3.00 - $3.50/hr: $6/hr for C172, $3/hr for C150
Fuel $3.50 - $4.00/gallon: $9/hr for C172, $5/hr for C150
Fuel $4.00 - $4.50/gallon: $12/hr for C172, $7/hr for C150

Cessna 08V will be increasing from $49 to $59 per hour ($69 retail)

Cessna 68U and 20U will be increasing from $74 to $79 per hour ($89 retail)

Cessna 04H will be increasing from $79 to $89 per hour ($99 retail)

Cessna 1ES will be increasing from $99/hr to $109 per hour ($119 retail)

Cessna 17J will remain at $129/hr ($149 retail)

Flight Instruction will remain at $39/hr. ($49 retail)

==

As we always do, all moneys on account as of April 30 will be honored at the 2006 rates for a period of 2 months, through June 30, 2007

Prepaid packages will be completely honored at the 2006 rates for 6 months, through October 31, 2007

From all of us here at the FlyC family, we thank you for sharing the sky with us, and we look forward to sharing even more air in 2007!

Blue Skies,

- Mike

Fly for free!

Pilots,

We are rebuilding our rolodex of ferry pilots, as we're in maintenance mode. We are interested in knowing who among you are available for short-notice ferry piloting?

Requirements:

PP-ASEL or late-stage solo (ie > 30 hours and are willing to receive a solo XC endorsement for the proposed flight) (PP-ASEL strongly preferred for this)

You live reasonably close to the airport, or can get to Corona on fairly short notice (often <2 hours, but we can work with "same day" also)



Some past Flights include:

AJO-CCB (Avionics)
AJO-SNA (Avionics)
AJO-HHR (Aircraft positioning)
AJO-APV (Aircraft positioning)
AJO-CMA (Aircraft positioning)

We pay for all flight and CFI time for these flights, which are typically <1 hr, but sometimes can go to 2+.

Sometimes there are unusual limitations to the flight, such as partial avionics, requiring you to fly as part of a "flight of two" in controlled airspace. CFI briefings are available for ALL unusual procedures, and we never do things in violation of the FARs. We will not ask you to fly outside of your comfort zone. At the same time, however, you may gain experience with new airports or flight regulations, which will put you "on your toes" -- so be interested in learning something new.

Please email the office at fly@flycorona.com if you'd like to be in our rolodex for ferry flights.

Thanks!

Blue Skies,

- Mike

Wings in the storm...

Pilots,

Please join me in congratulating newly-minted US Private Pilot Bill J., who earned his wings yesterday in the soup in his own Piper Cherokee!

The private pilot license is an awesome achievement, and you must admire anyone who wants to tackle that sort of thing in the murk..



Nicely done, Bill!

Blue Skies,

- Mike

Happy Easter!

Pilots,

The Fly Corona office will be closed on Sunday. After-hours flight procedures will be in effect for those who are flying on Sunday, please contact the office if you are unfamiliar with those.



Have a great weekend everyone!

Blue Skies,

- Mike

Some minor tweaks...

Pilots,

Please join me in congratulating US Private Pilot Peter T. who got his wings on Saturday with DPE Tom Hamm in Cessna 20U.

Congratulations, Peter!

--

CFI Robert has left the FlyC family in order to fly the Beechcraft King Air for Dynamic Aviation. Robert has been with us for 2 years, and we will miss his upbeat personality.

Robert's students have been transitioned over the last two weeks -- please let the office know if you were flying with Robert and need to switch CFIs, and we can find one that meets your schedule needs.

Blue Skies, Rob!

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Cessna 68U is being shipped off to Cable Airport for a new transponder, and to repair navcom #2. We'll do an IFR recalibration while she's in the wire shop. Downtime may be a few days.

A little haze, but a lot of fun flying going on lately.

Best,

- Mike