Andrew on his 14th birthday showing off his solo certificate. Andrew is one of the youngest student pilots to ever solo a certified airplane! His instructor Al Auton, proudly calls Andrew an excellent pilot and a great student to work with. Way to go Andrew!!

We began flying lessons at Harv's Air in August 2001. When we first started, we had our doubts that we could ever fly an airplane of any kind all by ourselves. Part of the problem was we were scared. The reason that we started to fly was because of our dad. He wanted us to build confidence in ourselves, and he thought that this was an excellent way to do so while learning a valuable skill. He's always wanted us to be highly qualified people, and flying is now another fun and exciting skill we have!

We are learning to fly the Citabria, a taildragger. My dad, who thought that it was best to learn how to fly at the basics, recommended this kind of plane partly because we have one. He said that hopefully once we know how to fly a taildragger, we can fly anything no problem! Learning to fly this plane is probably in some ways easier and in some ways more challenging than flying a tricycle gear airplane. It keeps you thinking about everything all the time, especially during landings. For the first few lessons we took, mostly we concentrated on getting over our initial fears of flying. As time went on, we began to feel more comfortable with the plane, and our landings got less and less bouncy. Now we think it's FUN!

We went down to Steinbach a few times each week during the summer, learning about circuits and working towards our first solos. Even though it's not exactly what our friends are doing in their evenings and weekends, it's still fun and a great opportunity. 

The highlight in our flight training so far was our first solos. It was slightly frightening at first, but after a while we started to notice that "hey, this is fun!" Both of our first solos ended with nearly perfect landings, something that usually isn't too easy to do. One of the first comments to Al after coming down was "that was easy!" With every missed landing and every bounce, you learn something. Eventually, we'll outsmart that airplane!

We know that our training isn't nearly over yet, but it's always getting more interesting. Learning to fly at Harv's has been a very positive experience for many reasons. We love the environment, both of the people and the airport. Everybody there is so supportive, and the informal environment is really helpful. Because it isn't a controlled airport, it's just right for a beginner.  It's the best place anyone could learn to fly!

Some very important things we've learned from flying are that if you believe in yourself you can do anything, and that you don't have to be a genius to be able to fly a plane. If you have the time and money to learn how to fly, we highly recommend it. Even if you're not interested in flying as a career, it's still a great skill to have. We think it's good to learn now while we're young, and we still have a lot of time. Even if we decide not to continue flying in the future, the self-confidence that has been a product of flying will help us for the rest of our lives.

Valerie and Bonnie Bryson

Contact Harv's Air Flight School

Harv's Air Service
Steinbach South Airport
Box 1056,
Steinbach
Manitoba
CANADA
R5G 1M8

Ph: 204 326 2434
Fx: 204 326 4182

Toll free in Manitoba
(800) HARV-AIR
E-Mail adam@harvsair.com
MSN Messenger: adam@harvsair.com

On the web since 1993!
In business since 1972!