2023 WINNER
AVA READING
Congratulations Ava Reading for being the winner of the Kieran Brown Memorial Flying Scholarship for 2023.
Ava is a Grade 10 student at Mt St Michael's College at Ashgrove, where she consistently receives Academic Excellence awards and has been a finalist in the National Future Problem Solving competition and Australian Space Design competition.
Ava has been going to Air League since the age of 13. She proudly describes herself as being 'a profound aviation, astronomy and aerospace geek' and aspires to one day be a fighter pilot in the RAAF.
AVA'S JOURNEY
14 June 2023
I hope you are having a fantastic week
I just thought I’d let you know that I finally completed my first lesson on Saturday!
It was so so amazing, and it was the perfect weather for flying too.
We flew East near Straddie and practiced a bunch of things like;
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The primary and secondary effects of flight controls
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Trimming
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Reading the instruments
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Adjusting the throttle
I also made sure to ask lots of questions throughout the lesson
When we were about to take off, there was a photographer near the runway taking a photo of the Eurofox, so Jimmy decided to do a short takeoff and that was super cool too.
My next lesson is planned for the 20th of June, and I can’t wait.
Thank you again for this opportunity! 😊
26 July 2023
My flying lessons have been going really, really well! I’m starting to really understand the theory, understand the radio terminology, and obviously I’m loving the flight
On Sunday I had Josh take me for my flight on ‘Turns’. I think this has been one of my favorite lessons to date. We flew out to the Eastern Training Area near Straddie. We practiced normal turns, climbing turns and descending turns. I must say you can definitely get a bit dizzy going in circles. I started to really get the hang of it in the end.
I also did many of the radio calls, which was a bit nerve wracking but satisfying once I had done them.
My next lesson is this Saturday and I cannot wait!
😊
25/10/2023
Hi Bev!
I DID IT!!! I WENT SOLO!!!
I CANNOT BELIEVE IT!!!
It was officially the most incredible experience of my entire life, a memory which will stay with me forever! I still can’t believe it happened; and it actually took me quite some time to process 😂.
We were doing circuits on Monday morning and, as I nearly went solo the last lesson, I had a feeling it would happen. Then like I predicted, Lachie said he was going to hop out after a couple more circuits. He did, and then I was off on my own! I was super nervous at the start, and was contemplating whether I was ready or not, but Lachie said he had no doubt I was going to do just fine!
I taxied to my holding point, and I had to wait for another aircraft to land before heading onto the runway. This definitely got my nerves up, especially as I had some time to think. However, all went very smoothly! I took off really well and did 1 short circuit before landing again. ATC was so lovely the entire time and even congratulated me, saying that despite the conditions (changing winds and a bit of tailwind), I landed really smoothly! Lachie even took a video of my landing for me, so I’ve attached that for you, as well as a couple photos from afterwards.
I was absolutely buzzing after, and Mum and Dad were so proud! I know for a fact that this is exactly what I want to do when I’m older, the feeling felt so incredibly amazing and freeing. The best day ever!
Also, Lachie gave me my very first captain’s hat! I’m #164 which I think I’m going to make my new lucky number.
I still cannot thank you and Rod enough for the opportunity to be able to do this, it has meant the world to me and I really hope Kieran is proud!
14 April 2024
Here is a little summary of my training;
At the start of my training I was very nervous but extremely excited. Obviously it was a completely new thing for me but after having that introductory session prior to receiving the scholarship, I knew it was going to be lots of fun.
I was totally right. All my lessons have been so much and such a information rich experiences. Every time we land, I cannot stop smiling as we taxi off the runway.
It has also been amazing to see the progress I have made over my lessons, and the way I began to become good at things I was very nervous about that the start. Such as takeoff and landings, speaking of the radio, and understand the instruments of the aircraft.
It was also quite interesting switching from the Eurofox to the Cessna, it allowed me to fly two different aircraft and understand the differences between the two. My instructor, Lachie, has been the absolute best. He always pushes me to do my best and can answer any question I throw at him. I would not have been able to do as well as I have been without him.
My first circuit solo has got to be my favourite moment of my training so far. I was so nervous that day as I had a feeling I was going to go solo. In the end I had nothing to be nervous about, and I actually had lots of fun doing it. Being up in the air on my own felt so surreal, especially not having Lachie there in case I had a question. I simply focused on everything I had been taught when doing circuits and continued to tell myself exactly what to do. When I landed, it was such a fulfilling and amazing experience.
Aside from this, some of my favourite moments have also been learning precautionary search and landings, and stalls. I liked these lessons because they were something that would come in very important in situations I may find myself in the future. I found these lesson interesting as it really put my theory knowledge into practice and really pushed me to execute it well.
I also really enjoyed this one particular moment, when it was an overcast looking day. Lachie said that we could still fly which I was so happy about, we ended up just doing a consolidation lesson, but when I realised all my previous knowledge was coming together, it made me so happy to see.
Overall, my time so far at Flightscope and learning to fly as been no less than extraordinary. I have loved every minute of it and it would never have been possible without you and Kieran.
😊
