“Flying at North Aero builds confidence, especially in younger students. In one word, it’s rewarding.”
His story
Gabriel Barajas grew up with aviation in the family, even though no one in it was a pilot. It stayed in the background until a trip to Oshkosh, right after he graduated high school, turned interest into love. The community was different, he remembers thinking. This was really something.
He earned his private certificate at 17. He is candid that his youth made it harder, that the critical thinking and the habits came with time. He counts it as a rite of passage that helped him grow up and start thinking about the kind of person he wanted to be.
Instrument training was where it got serious. He had failures on the instrument rating, and it was the closest he came to wondering whether he should keep going, right on the heels of the high he felt at Oshkosh. He pushed through anyway.
Those setbacks shaped how he teaches. Today Gabriel is a CFI at North Aero, where he builds real relationships with his students and trusts the airplanes he puts them in. Ask him why train Part 61 here, and he answers in one word: community.
“It’s really nice to see younger students grow, not just as pilots but as people, as you teach them along.”
Gabriel Barajas, CFIIn his words
“The planes are very well-maintained and the maintenance logs are easy to read. I have 100 percent confidence they’ll run every time. It’s a relief to know I’m going to be safe when I fly here.”
Gabriel Barajas, CFI“The best reason to train Part 61 at North Aero is community. You meet a lot more experienced pilots, and the opportunities are higher. It’s less factory-streamlined than a 141.”
Gabriel Barajas, CFIFrom his first solo all the way to his CFI checkride.
Come meet the instructors students stay friends with long after the checkride.
