Douglas Donaldson – Flying Bio
Private Pilot, Airplane - 1973
Instrument rating - 1975
Commercial Pilot, Glider - 1978
USUA Pilot and Basic Flight Instructor, Weight-Shift - 2001
Sport Pilot and Sport Pilot Instructor, Weight-Shift - 2005
Light Sport Repairman Maintenance for Airplane, Powered
Parachute, Weight-Shift - 2006
First Flights: Schweizer 2-22 glider and Piper Cherokee at the old
Antioch Airport in California. Jerry Graham instructed in both and
enjoyed soaring the Cherokee on the slopes of Mount Diablo (engine
off!). I’m just a kid but I know this is something special. First
Formal Instruction: 10 hours in 1970 while vacationing in Hawaii.
The weather was great and the scenery wasn’t bad either! More time
in a Cherokee. Solo: 1972 in Colorado flying a Cessna 150. Private
Pilot: 1973 in Oakland, California. Back to a trusted Cherokee –
this time an Arrow (200 HP, retractable gear, variable pitch prop).
Instrument Rating: 1975 in Oakland. Still in the Arrow. Solo,
Glider: 1977 in Calistoga, CA. Jim Indrebo operates a gliderport
that is literally in the middle of downtown. The scenery in the
upper Napa Valley rivals Kawaii. I learn to soar in thermals above
the vineyards, ridge lift along the bluffs, and even in occasional
mountain wave lift. I fly Schweizers again (2-32, 2-33, 1-26, 1-34,
1-35) and a PIK-20. Commercial Glider: 1978 in Calistoga. I am
hooked and buy a used Schempp-Hirth Standard Cirrus. Dark Ages: A
combination of life’s twists and turns takes me down a path that
leads away from flying (marriage, children, divorce, etc. – flying
becomes too expensive). In my desperation I ride motorcycles,
mountain bikes, rollerblades, and skis while keeping one eye on the
sky. Renaissance: The lure of the skies becomes unbearable again and
I resume my flying. I will fly a helicopter (fantastic but I can’t
afford it), earn my Hang 1 rating in Hang Gliders from Pat Denevan
at Mission Soaring in Milpitas CA (this is a lot of work – my
shoulders and knees can’t take it), and fly Jim Indrebo’s newest two
place sailplane (a glass Schleicher) at his new location, Crazy
Creek Soaring in Middletown CA (near Clear Lake). I even take a
lesson in a 3-axis Flight Star at Fletcher’s Ultralights in Turlock
CA. Then I discover Trikes … Ultralight Trikes: John Fletcher takes
me up in his 52 horsepower Hercules trike with Mustang 17.5 wing. We
fly low and slow, landing in a nearby field just because we can.
This is the bare essence of powered flight with the wind in my face
and the wing in my hand. I remember everything I enjoyed about
flying! I start instruction, progress rapidly through solo, buy my
own NorthWing Apache, earn my Pilot registration and continue on to
obtain a USUA Basic Flight Instructor registration in July 2001.
Ultralight Trike Flight Instruction: I build experience flying for
Fletcher’s Ultralights giving demonstration lessons and pilot flight
lessons. I share the thrill my students enjoy during their first
flights, take-offs, landings, solos, etc. and I am proud of their
progress. Not every operation is picture perfect but the Apache
takes the abuse in stride – it proves to be a good trainer with a
gentle wing and powerful engine. My students learn quickly! I am a
happy man. Golden State Trikes - Lodi: I have developed my own style
of teaching, my own attitudes about safety and maintenance, and my
own record of safe and successful instruction and now I have my own
school. Lodi Airport is a great facility with an active community of
responsible ultralight flyers, parachute jumpers, and general
aviation pilots. The Apache is retired and replaced with a new
Antares trike. A great set-up that I expect to last a long time! In
July, 2005 I travel to fly with John Beaman in Oregon. He is a
graduate of the first class of Sport Pilot Examiners and I am the
first Sport Pilot/Sport Pilot Instructor he examines.
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