Congratulations to Hans Noack, EAA 848994, on passing his private pilot checkride in a Citabria on May 17, 2018 in Venice, Florida, where he had traveled to from Oshkosh, Wisconsin to work on his training.
“I came down to Florida, and I was really timid about it,” he said. “I may be from an aviation family, but it’s a big thing. Especially stalling the aircraft, that was a big scare for me going into it.”
Hans said he was able to correctly and safely demonstrate a stall and recovery, and after that he said his confidence increased, although he was careful to not get too presumptuous about his abilities.
“It’s just slowly building confidence in my ability in the plane and at the same time making sure I built my knowledge with it, so my confidence didn’t outpace it,” Hans said.
He said the combination of passing his private pilot checkride and doing so in an unfamiliar setting made him feel a sense of empowerment and independence.
“It’s probably one of the most fulfilling things I’ve ever done,” he said. “Having gone down to Florida when I just turned 19, it really was a step toward doing things on my own, especially being in a state I’ve never been in before, doing things I’ve never done before.”
Hans said he is now setting his sights on getting his instrument rating and commercial certificate in the future.
Have you reached a milestone recently? Passed a checkride, given your first or hundredth Young Eagle flight, flown your homebuilt for the first time? Tell us about it at editorial@eaa.org.