As Gold Seal Flight Instructors with nearly 80 practical test sign-offs between them, Holly and Matt have proven to be very proficient, successful, conscientious, and sought-after flight instructors. Working a combined 4+ years at a very busy flight school in Tucson, AZ they accumulated a combined 2500+ hours of dual instruction given. This instruction was spread over everything from conventional private pilot coursework to accelerated ("8-day") instrument ratings, to multi-engine ATP training.
In order to earn "Gold Seal" accreditation from the FAA, a flight Instructor must record an 80% first-time pass rate over at least 10 students in a 2 year period. Matt and Holly boast well over 90% with nearly 80 sign-offs... even while working in an "accelerated" program environment. Check out our resumes...
Mountain flying and back country operations offer some of the most exhilarating, breath-taking, and rewarding flying a pilot (and his/her passengers!) can experience. With a 30 years of experience operating in the mountainous regions of Arizona, Colorado, Utah, and Idaho - and the most recent (and perhaps most significant) experience in New Zealand... Mountain Wave Aviation can help give pilots the tools to experience safe, successful, and thrilling excursions into the backcountry of our great land.
NEW ZEALAND BACK COUNTRY EXPERIENCE
Our New Zealand experience was not only the most fantastic vacation of our lives, it was an incredible learning experience. The topography of the south island is diverse and the weather uncanny in its ability to change rapidly. The mountains tower from sea level to 12000 feet and then dive again into low valleys and fiords... not just once, but ridgeline after ridgeline after ridgeline. A warm weather system from the south pacific can engulf one side of the island while a cold front from Antarctica encrouches on the opposite shore, making local area weather, winds and terrain knowledge indispensable. Did you ever see "Lord of the Rings"? That is exactly what the South Island is like - except wipe the computer generated faces off the walls of the fiords and replace them with sheer granite. Absolutely stunning.
Our guide (Matt McCaughan of FlyInn Tours) was a pleasure to fly with, helped us navigate to and land at quite a few remote strips in the NZ back country, and taught us quite a bit about staying safe (and alive!) in those incredible, awe-inspiring, but unforgiving places.
