Never a Dull Moment

Vaughn's eight flight training students flank longtime Continental 
Airlines pilot Emerson Allen in the Redbird Flight Simulations 
Skyport hangar area. 

Jan. 8, 8 p.m.: The talk around the breakfast table on Sunday was how world-renowned flight instructors John and Martha King flew into Skyport to welcome our students and sign their certificates of completion. These courses are part of the integrated simulation flight training. Nice.

Even in great flying weather areas such as San Marcos sometimes the weather tanks. One of the great aspects of simulation-centric flight training is that when the weather turns bad, as it did on Sunday, you still can fly the simulators. The few raindrops were no match for the eight motivated Vaughn flight students who decided to head back to Skyport on their day off. Why? To fly the simulators and accept flight instructor Roy Good's offer to discuss how best to read METAR and TAF weather reports.

The students say everyone is pulling in the same direction to earn their ratings. The flight instructors, Redbird staff and the students are all committed to this goal. At the end of the day, there is nothing as satisfying as hearing the stories and seeing the smiles of our talented students who are working hard to achieve their goals. As one student said, "this is serious and fun at the same time!"

You know there is an abundance of aviation passion in the air when students choose to spend their downtime learning more. This drive for success is going to pay off big time.

—Ken Kaplan, managing director

Vaughn Aviation Outreach Initiative