Flight Instructor Primary, Instrument, Commercial, Multi Engine and Tailwheel
Owner of Northern Sky Aviation LLC, Mandan ND
Serving Bismarck and Mandan, North Dakota
Learn to Fly, Flight instruction, Airplane Rental, Flight training, Flying Lessons, Rent a plane
By appointment only, call for availability. Available most days, evenings and some weekend days.
Total Time as a pilot: 1700 Hrs.
Instrument Time: 140 Hrs.
Complex Time: 270 Hrs.
Multi Engine Time: 150 Hrs.
Tailwheel Time: 175 Hrs.
Dual Given: 1000 Hrs.
Tailwheel dual given: 150 Hrs.
Students have 100% pass rate
Cessna 140
Cessna 150
Cessna 152
Cessna 172
Cessna 172-180HP
Cessna 172XP
Cessna 175
Cessna 182
Cessna 210
Cessna 320
Cessna 310B
Piper Colt
Cherokee 140
Cherokee 180
Piper Cadet
Piper Warrior
Piper Archer
Piper Arrow III
Piper Arrow IV (t-tail)
Piper Comanche
Piper Cherokee 6-300
Piper Seminole
Piper Seneca I
Piper Seneca II
Piper Pawnee
Piper Tomahawk
V tail 35 Bonanza
Beech Debonair
A-36 Bonanza
Beech Duke
Bellanca 14-13-2
Aeronca 7AC Champ
Bellanca 7ACA Champ
7ECA Citabria
7KCAB Citabria
7GCBC Citabria
7GCAA Citabria
Eurcoupe
Zenith CH701
Pitts S2B
Rockwell Darter
Taylorcraft BC-12
Mooney M20E
Alegro 2000
I have been interested in aviation since grade school. As a junior in High School I went to work part-time for Great Lakes Airlines as a Lineman (fueler) in their then homebase of Spencer, IA. I enjoyed the work and being around the airline and GA pilots.
Right after high school (1995) I enrolled in a great two-year aviation program at Iowa Lakes Community College in Estherville, IA. I earned my Private, Instrument, Commercial, Multi-Engine, CFI and CFII there, achieved a two year degree in Aviation and Airport management, and continued to work for Lakes Air. I moved to North Dakota in the fall of 1997 to Grand Forks and attended the UND Aerospace aviation program in pursuit of a 4 year degree. I got hired as a co-op flight instructor my first semester and worked for 4 semesters for UND. I learned that I really enjoyed flight instruction and was happy to do it. I enjoyed the program, but ran short of money and discontinued in 2000.
After a break from flying, I returned to ILCC in the spring of 2001 to reinstate my CFI certificate and earn an MEI rating. After a very intense week, I earned my CFI, CFII and MEI certificates again. I then started a job search which was interrupped by 9-11. I was working in ND as a bus driver and drove route truck for Pepsi and seemed stuck there. I started looking around for free-lance work as a flight instructor or even just a cheap plane to rent to keep current. As I passed through the smaller towns on my Pepsi route, I started checking the airports out for activity, and ran into the Northwood Flying Club in Northwood, ND. It just so happened that they were in need of an instructor and I was in need of something to fly! A partnership was forged and I worked there, instructing the club members part time, and earning my tailwheel endorsement as a requirement for the club's fleet and needs.
As my student base grew, I started serving other airplane owners with there instruction needs covering Larimore, Hillsboro, Mayville, McVille, and all sorts of little private grass strips. These were truly fun students to work with, and I enjoyed teaching one-on-one much more than the university system. Standing out alongside the runway with a two-way watching your students solo; helping people learn to enjoy for themselves what I enjoy as a pilot and achieving a goal is what it is all about.
Although successful in Northwood, a change in life circumstances saw me start a new business, Northern Sky Aviation LLC, in Mandan ND. Carrying with me the experience, methods and principals I developed over the last 12 years, I've set out to teach a new bunch of students in Bismarck-Mandan ND. I look forward to the opportunity to teach new pilots here and help current pilots increase their skills and enjoy their hobby or career choice.
