Skies quiet, airport busy
December 18, 2013
By Ashley Glaza
Morthern Air

Kevin Lamp
The short days and low clouds make for quiet skies this time of year, but the instrument approach into the airport allows arrivals in all kinds of weather conditions, which was critical this week for the MedStar aircraft that made a quick stop over to transport a patient to Spokane for emergency medical services.

Whenever the sun does shine, the fair-weather flyers flock in for great fuel prices and use of the airport courtesy cars to roll into town for a lunch at one the local restaurants.

Northern Air has two new aircraft mechanics. Kevin Lamp has been the assistant aircraft mechanic at Northern Air for the past several years, building his experience to take his official test for aircraft mechanic license.

On November 26, he passed his Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) Mechanic practical exam and is now a certified A&P mechanic.

A week later on December 3, Nathaniel Cheshire also passed his A&P mechanic exam.

Nathaniel Cheshire
The A&P certification requires three written exams (Airframe, Powerplant and General), approximately three years of practical experience in those fields (or attend an FAA approved aviation mechanic school), and a 2-3 day oral/practical exam.

Both Kevin and Nathaniel have gained their experience working at Northern Air over the past few years.

Missionary organizations that service remote parts of the world require pilots to also be aircraft mechanics due to the secluded nature of some of the places they fly.

Phillip Negaard, who recently earned his Instrument Rating at Northern Air, is interested in becoming a missionary pilot and has started assisting the other mechanics at Northern Air in preparation for his A&P certificate.

This is the time of year when most aircraft owners schedule their required annual inspections and other maintenance, because they want their plane to be ready to fly when the sun shines!

This makes it a very busy time for aircraft mechanics.
 
The EAA has chosen the recipients of the 2014 Youth Flight Scholarships. The EAA was able to award three scholarships worth $3,000 each towards private pilot ground school and initial flight training to Caden Jones, Johannes Snyder and Zach Cleve.

They also awarded three smaller scholarships of $500 to pay for ground school and books to Kyle Coblentz, Michael Negoi, and Carey Barlows.

Congratulations to all the recipients!

Private Pilot Ground School starts January 6 at 5:30 p.m. at Northern Air. It will be held one day a week on Mondays for 16 classes. Space is limited so enroll early!

Northern Air and the EAA would like to thank the pilots and the community for helping make 2013 an incredible year and are looking forward to seeing everyone again in 2014 at the pancake breakfasts, Young Eagles day and anytime they feel like stopping in.

For more information of flight training, gift certificates or other happenings at the airport call 208 267 4359 or visit www.northernair.biz.