Adam Weisenburger with his checklist in the cockpit of the Seeley Lake Flying Club's airplane, a 1966 Cesna 172. According to Trace, the checklist is the biggest safety device in the airplane. Adam said the checklist was created in World War II following the tests for the B17 bomber. The pilot left the control lock in and attempted to take off. When he was unable to pull back on the stick and lift off, the bomber drove off the runway killing everyone onboard. The checklist has been an instrumental part of aviation ever since. Adam follows a check list for everything he does.
SEELEY LAKE – Most teenagers are happy to get their driver's license when they turn 16. Seeley Lake resident 16-year-old Adam Weisenburger's dream of becoming an airline pilot took off two weeks ago with his first solo flight. His goal is to get his private pilot's license when he turns 17 next May.
Adam has been into aviation ever since he can remember. He's built more than 40 model airplanes and said he "may spontaneously talk aviation." The first time he flew in an airplane was when he was in seventh grade.
Adam started flying in October 2013 with his student pilot license.
"I've been really enjoying everything about it," said Adam. "There are a lot of rules to learn but I'm still having fun."
Even though his father Trace is a Captain for Alaska Airlines, flies 737s and has been flying since 1988, Trace didn't have his single engine landing license. Trace spent eight months to get his single landing license and his certified flight instructor. On July 4 Trace became a certified instructor so Adam can now log his time and Trace has the authority to have Adam fly solo and do everything he needs to do to get his private license up through commercial license to transport pilot.
"The military trained me so I had to work backwards," said Trace. "I had to get with one of two check pilots in the state for my check ride [to become a certified flight instructor] . . . only 10 percent of the candidates pass on their first time. It was just a little stressful [but I passed]."
The Weisenburgers are members of the Seeley Lake Flying Club. Adam has been flying the Seeley Lake Flying Club's airplane, a 1966 Cesna 172, with club member David Wallenburn and Trace. Because neither David nor Trace were a certified flight instructor, Adam was not able to log his flight time until July 4.
Since July 4 Adam has logged 10 hours of flight time. Prior to taking his solo flight, Adam learned how to: do the pre-trip inspection; take off and land; follow the traffic pattern at airports; use and understand the navigation and engine instruments and radios in the airplane; recover from a stall, a point where the airplane is flying at too steep of an angle for the air to flow over the wing and maintain lift and begins to fall; and how to do power off landings and how to deal with other emergencies and aeronautical decision making.
"I've worked very hard," said Adam. "I had to do a lot of studying from books and worked with an aviation program [Sporty's] doing maneuvers."
Trace said that Sporty's is certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and provides lessons for every step to obtain a private license. He assigns Adam the lessons and then once he has completed them, they go fly and practice what he has learned.
Trace said that they have what is called bold face, immediate memory items. Adam learns acronyms to recall things quickly.
"If he gets himself into a situation where he is scared, we have this acronym called PARE. It keeps your mind going in the direction you want it to go so you don't get panicked. P is pull power, A is aileron neutral, R is rudder opposite the spin and E is elevator pull forward. That is going to work for every airplane, every time," said Trace. "The problem is if he does it close to the ground [there is not enough time to recover]. That's why we practice stalls."
Trace determined that Adam was competent in all the requirements and it was time for him to fly on his own. Adam took his first solo flight Tuesday, Aug. 16 at the airport in Ronan, Mont. It is a paved strip with fewer obstacles than the Seeley Lake Airport. They also have a radio that allowed Trace to talk with Adam from the ground.
"I'm telling him what to do but he's the pilot in command, he's the one in charge," said Trace. "It's a big deal."
Adam said he was nervous. Before his first take off, another airplane came in.
"I saw him land, I thought hopefully my landing will be that nice," said Adam.
The takeoff was easy. Once Adam was airborne he thought, "I have to come down now and Dad isn't here to help. I'm all on my own."
He did three take-offs, flew the pattern around the airport and then landed. They all went well with only one landing harder than he wanted.
Now Adam will start flying cross country including night flying. Once he passes all the requirements and logs 40 hours of flight time, Adam will take a practical test and take a check ride performing various maneuvers with a check airman in Missoula.
"When he lands and they check him off, he is good to go," said Trace. "He can fly anywhere he wants as a VFR (Visual Flight Rating) pilot under those rules. He can buy his own airplane and do his own thing."
Adam plans to attend Big Bend Community College in Moses Lake, Wash. He will be enrolled in the Aviation Flying Program and all of his classes will revolve around aviation.
"When it comes to aviation Adam has a very big passion," said Trace. "I'm very proud of all the work he has put into it and the motivation that keeps him studying."
Adam said, "I'm looking forward to more flying time."
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