I would like to start by taking a brief moment to introduce myself. Other than my "smooth and steady hands," I have been involved in flying all of my life. Both of my parents were pilots, and as luck would have it, while my mom was working on her license, my time was spent behind the seats of her Yankee for the duration of the lesson. It still plagues me why fuel soaked rags and gnawing on quarts of motor oil give me a sense of comfort.

I have been a member of West Valley since the summer of 1994. I have enjoyed the club both as a member and as a flight instructor, and look forward to working with and helping the club in the capacity of Director of Flight Safety.

Director of Flight Safety--the position title has changed but many of the responsibilities remain the same. Obviously the primary goal is to ensure the safety of flight operations in the organization. Other key goals are to ensure a high level of customer service and instruction to the members of West Valley Flying Club.

This is done primarily through ongoing measurement and monitoring of the activity of the instructor and flight membership. At times, this can tend to be an antagonistic relationship, as the brunt of feedback and conversation is derived from negative encounters. Trust me, this is critical to ensuring safety, but it's not the only aspect of our flying that I would like feedback on.

Please take the time to fill me in on the positive things that you observe as well. Fill out a member observation form on a positive experience--a member or flight instructor solving a hard-to-understand concept, preventing a potentially harmful situation, or just doing a stand up job. They say good pilots learn from their own experience, and great pilots learn from the experience of others. I feel that if we take the time to share both the negative and the positive, we will create the best possible learning platform for our membership and instructional staff.

I look forward to working with everyone as we enter into our spring flying season. The weather has been beautiful, which tends to bring the skies alive with the sound of airplanes buzzing about. If you have questions please feel free to email me at flightsafety@wvfc. org. In the mean time, I am going to go gnaw on some oil bottles and curl up with my Low Lead blankie.

Stay current, stay safe.

As pilots, we have the unique opportunity to soar above gridlock hell, and make day or weekend trips to destinations that would try the patience and good will of the average road-bound traveler. With summer just around the corner, and so many great destinations within our reach, we'd like to profile one each month in upcoming newsletters. Email whatsup@wvfc.org if you'd like to recommend one of your favorites. For starters, we'll take a look at 0Q5, Shelter Cove.

I'd been hearing about Shelter Cove since I started learning to fly in 1999. I'd also heard that the area was frequently shrouded in fog. This weekend, though, the skies were severe clear throughout the state, so Shelter Cove it would be. Straight up the coast and 1.3 hours later, my passenger and I were nearly there.

The approach from the south takes you over the water, alongside a mostly mountainous coastline. We heeded the adage, "altitude is our friend," and kept enough of it to keep our options open, but a momentary unease at the lack of suitable landing spots was swept away when the tiny town of Shelter Cove came into view. Located along the "Lost Coast" of Mendocino County, Shelter Cove is a picturesque collection of homes nestled into a thick hillside forest and dotting the lowland areas right up to the beach. The airfield itself, surrounded by a golf course and campgrounds, lies on a patch of low, flat terrain jutting out into the Pacific.

By the time we finished tying down the airplane, the sun was just beginning to set. We stopped to watch it from a small grassy clearing hanging precariously above rocky tide pools and wave-beaten caverns. One long streak of cloud hung in the sky forever, and then it was night.

Just when we thought the day couldn't be any more perfect, we found our lodging. We'd made a reservation at the Shelter Cove Motor Inn just before leaving San Carlos, but judging by the name and the price, we didn't have high expectations. The best room in the house is under $100 for AOPA members (add another $15 during the high season), and anything ending in Motor Inn just didn't seem to bode well. But the name belies the place... the rooms are new and comfortable, with a decor that reflects the blue skies and sea all around you, and every one has a stunning ocean view. Our corner room had a wrap-around view of cliffs and ocean that literally took our breath away.

There's not a lot to do after sunset in Shelter Cove, but we did find a pub and a couple of restaurants. Dinner at the Chart Room was excellent, the kind of place where you leave feeling like you're part of the family. Aside from being gracious hosts, owners Ann and Jonathan monitor Unicom from the kitchen, and are happy to stick their heads out the window to check winds and ceiling for inbound pilots. Breakfast at the Lost Coast Coffee Co. is equally charming.

We were told the next morning that day visitors have much to choose from, including golf, boating, hiking, tide pooling, and diving for abalone. But we had to get the plane back by 2:00 PM. We started back for San Carlos reluctantly, happy to have discovered such a magical place, and already looking forward to hiking and tide pools next time around.

For more information: http://www.sheltercovemotorinn.com, http://www.chartroom.cc. See http://www.airnav.com/airport/0Q5 for field information, including an aerial photo.

On January 24 I soloed for the first time! After my solo phasecheck earlier that day, I was scheduled to fly with my instructor, Garrett, in the afternoon. We'd been talking for weeks about when I was going to solo. The weather had been really clear, so I could fly as much as possible to prepare for my solo phasecheck, and for my solo. The weather didn't look so good for the weekend, so when my phasecheck went well, we decided that this was the day. It was time for me to solo!

I did three landings with Garrett, and then he had me taxi back to Delta row to park the airplane while he signed endorsements in my logbook and medical certificate. I asked him to take pictures of my landings, and handed him my transceiver. Then he got out of 738LF and walked away.

I restarted the engine and talked to the tower, "Student pilot, taxi back to Rwy 31." When the airplane started moving, I really found out what it felt like to have no one in the co-pilot seat. It was a strange feeling, and also very exciting, but mostly I remembered the things Garrett had trained me to do, and I did them. I got a clearance for take-off from the tower... I was in motion for take- off, then... How light it was to take off!!

I know Garrett is not so heavy. But even so, I really felt that it was lighter to take off. I've heard this kind of story many times. Finally it came to me!

Before I had decided to solo, I felt a little anxious about it. I had been flying for a long time. As English is not my first language, and I came here to the United States just one and a half years ago, I had to fight not only to maneuver the airplane but also to overcome the language problems, dealing with ATC, and having flight lessons in English. For these reasons it took me a long time to be able to solo... if I felt fear when I was in solo flight, I worried, what should I do?

On the contrary, I was so comfortable soloing. When I climbed up to the traffic pattern I pretended as if Garrett was in the co- pilot seat. It made me feel strong. I got a clearance to land from the tower. Luckily, there was not much traffic and not much crosswind. My first landing was one of the most beautiful landings I had ever had. It gave me a confidence with my landings like I had never had before.

Can you imagine how happy I was that day? For months I wasn't sure I would ever be able to solo, but the many hours Garrett and I spent in training worked for me very well. Now I know I will keep flying to one day be able to be a private pilot.