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
For Hadley Greenwood, the answer was “pretty good.” That’s not because she doesn’t like flying with her instructor, Gabriel Barajas. It’s because a very special moment had come.
A first solo is a rite of passage every pilot goes through. It is the coolest, most nerve-wracking, most liberating, and most peaceful thing a pilot can experience, often all at once. That’s why so few pilots ever forget it.
Hadley’s morning on October 12, 2026, was no different, except for one thing: she did it in one of the coolest airplanes you can learn to fly, a Luscombe 8E. N1302B is a great airplane, and it challenges students by being unforgiving at times. So when Hadley took off, all of us watching from the ground knew she had the skills to bring it back down safely. She and Gabe had worked hard to build them.
Her dad, Jeff, a pilot himself, was there to see the magic happen and cheer on his amazing daughter.
We are all very proud of Hadley and her first solo. This is just the start of a lifetime of flying.
Why 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.
