By Copper Williams
There’s nothing quite like the rush of exhilaration felt when looking out the window of a plane. Gazing out and onto the world below, the sky meets the earth across the horizon, combining in a glorious tapestry of clouds and color. With August being National Aviation Month, we explored options for flight in San Joaquin.
SkyView Flight Academy is an aviation school located at the Tracy Municipal Airport. With great weather and close proximity to the Bay Area, it’s been a top tier school for aspiring pilots around the Central Valley and beyond. The academy hosts four full-time instructors and a few part-time, with eleven various aircrafts specifically tailored to train.
“We’ve been a flight school for eight years,” says Richard Ortenheim, owner of SkyView Academy. “All my instructors are high timed and high experienced.” Richard’s school has been ahead of the game when it comes to the rigorous guidelines all aviation schools follow. “Our school has already adopted new scenario based training that will be mandatory starting next year.”
The academy’s doors are open for both domestic and international students looking to try their hands at flying. “We just receive our 141 Certification to [train] international students and now we can apply for the GI Bill.” This bill will allow the school to retrain veterans who’ve been pilots, looking to get back in the air once again.
Anyone looking to become a pilot must first meet the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) medical airmen standards. Those who meet the standards receive a medical certificate to prove they’re in top form for flight! It’s then that a potential student must come to the academy, in person or online, to fill out an application.
Once accepted, the school works with the student to create a specific program for their individual needs. If the student would like to go for their private license and has time to come into the academy two to three times a week, that student could receive their license in as little as three to four months!
When they aren’t in the air, trainees are given plenty of bookwork for self-study and kept busy with lesson that drill them with pre-flight questions to guarantee they’ve done their homework. Once the instructor ensure that each student has learned what they need to know to go up in the air, the student leaves the ground behind for some in-flight training! After they return to the runway, it’s time for the instructor to let their pupil know what they’ve done right and what they need to work on.
This training continues until the student is ready for the FAA written test. Passing this test gives the student the opportunity to go up in the air for one more in-flight exam, but this time they’re heading up for the ultimate test with an FAA member. One smooth flight later and the student is ready to receive their license!
For More Information:
Skyview Aviation, LLC
5729 S. Tracy Blvd., Tracy
(209) 830-7666
SkyviewAviation.com