Student stories · Milestone
Three takeoffs. Three landings. Nobody in the right seat.
Hadley soloed for the first time in N1302B, our Luscombe 8E taildragger, at the Salinas Airport.
From the cockpit camera and the ramp. Turn the sound on.
The day
On the morning of October 12, 2026, Hadley Greenwood lined up on the runway at the Salinas Airport with an empty seat beside her. Her instructor, Gabriel Barajas, had signed her solo endorsement and stepped back from the airplane.
She flew three takeoffs and three full-stop landings in the Salinas traffic pattern. Then she taxied back to the hangar, ran the shutdown checklist, and climbed out.
She did it in N1302B, the airplane we call the tailwheel that teaches the feet. No flaps, a tailwheel, and no patience for lazy rudder work. It was Hadley’s very first solo.
Her dad, Jeff, was there to see it. When she stepped out of the airplane, the first question was how it felt.
“I feel pretty good.”
Hadley Greenwood, right after her first soloWhy it matters
A first solo is the first time a student pilot flies with no one else on board. Every pilot remembers it.
It is earned, not scheduled. Among other requirements, FAA rule 14 CFR 61.87 requires a pre-solo knowledge test given and graded by the instructor, pre-solo flight training, and the instructor’s endorsement in the student’s logbook.
At North Aero, your instructor signs you off when you are ready, and not before.
October 12, 2026, Salinas Airport (KSNS).
Signed off by Gabriel Barajas, CFI. Read Gabe’s story →
A discovery flight is how nearly everyone here began.
