As cliche as it sounds, it all began when I was a little kid in Houston, Texas. One of the first toys I ever had was a die-cast KLM 747. I carried it with me wherever I went. My grandfather (seen in the picture below) always told me about his times in the Dutch Airforce and about his flying experiences. I grew up looking to the skies every time I heard the jet engine of a commercial airliner. I loved the atmosphere of airports and the feeling of being on a plane. It was that feeling that would eventually lead to where I am today.
Now I live in Los Angeles and throughout my high school years I never really considered aviation beyond the aspect of travel. I still loved to fly on commercial planes and the feeling of being at an airport but to actually fly planes was never in my line of vision. In 2007, as a college student, I did some research and decided that going on a demo flight would be a good way to test the waters of piloting. At this point I had never been in a small aircraft and was looking forward to the experience. After soaring above the San Fernando Valley and viewing the coast of Santa Monica from 3000 feet in the sky, I knew I had to get my private pilot’s license.
I told myself that as soon as I graduated college, I would begin flight lessons and work towards my PPL. My girlfriend, Erica, gave me that first nudge by purchasing 3 hours of flight rental that would go towards my training. I made an appointment that very week and have been going about once a week since. I have had the pleasure of taking her on a lesson and even bringing my grandfather (the only other person in my family that loves aviation as I do) on a lesson.
I will use this site to chronicle my training for myself and anyone else that may find it interesting. As far as a future in aviation after my PPL, I am still not sure. A commercial license is not out of the questions but I will make that decision when I get there.
I hope you enjoy what you read as much as I enjoy writing about it.
Daniel Nasserian
Hey Daniel,
My names Darren you talked to Steve and I after your lesson with Ami. I just went through your blog and it is great! I was intensely amused and engrossed in every flight lesson you posted! I don’t know if you heard but my CFI Meiko Powers landed her plane on a Las Vegas street after an engine failure…It was all over CNN and the local Las Vegas News Channel 13! Here is the video and article link:
http://www.ktnv.com/Global/story.asp?s=8702034
I also remember you having a question on Density Altitude and Weather…If you haven’t already had your questions answered I would be able to help.
Give me a ring if you wanna talk aviation or have any questions at all. I have some aviation videos on you tube under my user name: Dpgtime
my cell is 323 481 2510
by the way who is your new instructor?
By: Darren on July 22, 2008
at 12:25 pm
Who is the good looking guy to the left
By: GDVrij on July 24, 2008
at 2:51 am
I’m glad you chose Meiko! She is a great CFI and will answer all your questions in a really easy way! Meiko is also a great Pilot and will make your flight training fun! She called about the site and wanted to know the web address but i could not remember it at the time. Happy training.
Darren
By: Darren on August 3, 2008
at 1:05 pm
You still flying looks like a long time between lesson 9 and 10. Plus 10 was some time ago.
I hope you keep it up and get your private
By: iwantaplane on September 25, 2008
at 5:17 pm
Yes, Yes, I too am a flight enthusiast. I have been flying for about a year now and have logged hours from several airports all over the globe. Tell me, do you find the mouse to be a better instrument for navigation or do you stick to the left/right arrows? I use the arrow keys myself, but am considering a move to the mouse because the keys on my keyboard have gotten incredibly sticky. comment.
By: Vincent on June 17, 2009
at 10:53 am