Friends and Family Feedback

“Scanlon is great! They have wonderful instructors, great, well maintained airplanes. It’s a maintenance facility on site so if anything needs work, you feel like it can be double checked or looked at so it can be fixed right away. They’ve got everything right there.

It’s not just a flight school it’s a great community. I look forward to when we can get together again, hang out, talk flying. I’d love to reach out to schools around here and help them know more about flying; maybe have an aviation day at the schools.

Everybody at the flight school has been great because I’m a fairly new pilot and I really feel part of the aviation family. If you have any questions, or want me to go along as a safety pilot, I’d be happy to help with you with those kinds of things.”

Can we say this about Jonathan, such as we said about Patrick; he’s not your average cardiologist out for a turn around the patch!?

Jonathan started flying at Scanlon Aviation in March of 2018 in a G1000 equipped Cessna 172S. That led inevitably to him obtaining his private pilot certificate in April of 2019.

Since he’s not the type of guy who lets the grass grow under his landing gear, he transitioned to the Cirrus and completed instrument training in an SR20G6 Perspective Plus and an SR22G2 Avidyne; his instrument rating followed shortly thereafter in June of 2020.

The next phase of his Cirrus adventures led him across many ponds, to places like the UK, France, Florida, Boston, Maui, and New Zealand where he perfected his new craft with CSIP pilots in those countries.

He had so much fun that he bought an SR20G6 that’s now used for the Scanlon rental and instruction fleet. That led to him then buying an SR22TG6 that Patrick flies in part 135 Charter operations.

As a way to keep the Goldman/Cirrus legacy alive, he signed up his 16 year old son for flying lessons “in house” at Scanlon.

He feels privileged to have been trained by Patrick and Robert Tarleton who have both inspired him and other students to pursue a passion and thirst for continuous learning, and safety first in the air.

He says, “I found that if you fly at Scanlon Aviation you are part of a supportive community of aviators that will make you a better pilot every time you fly.”

We take the liberty to add that you just might become a better person by association with us, as well!

Thank you for contributing in so many ways to the betterment of aviation, Jonathan…

Jay is an instrument rated private pilot who started flying in 2004. He considers Gnoss Field his home base since he did his private license and instrument rating here in “ancient” 172’s and Piper Cherokees.

Jay has been a Scanlon fan since returning to flying “after grad school and kids” in 2016. It was then when he was “sold” since he saw how beautifully maintained the aircraft were and how well structured Pat’s approach to training was.

“Scanlon is ideal because they operate like a big shop when it comes to things like maintenance and procedures but are very small and friendly to deal with as a customer.”

Jay became a business partner in 2019 when took ownership of one of the SR20s they use for flight training/rental. “This has been a great experience for me especially because Pat has been such a fantastic partner.”

Jay lives in Mill Valley with his wife and two sons. Hobbies that vie for his attention besides flying are mainly “running and hiking in this beautiful place where we live.”

Zach is a long time customer of Scanlon who got checked out in Pat’s original SR20 and “immediately fell in love with the aircraft.” Since then, he’s been checked out in the SR22 as well and is proficient with both the Avidyne and Perspective systems.

He got his instrument rating back in June of 2019 and took his check ride in a Scanlon, Avidyne equipped SR22, under the hooded guidance of our own Robert Tarleton, who he calls “fantastic!”

He says Robert was incredibly knowledgeable, experienced and approachable. “I would recommend him to anyone for anything!”

Zach soloed when he was 20 years old and got his license a month before his 21st birthday. He has a great appreciation for the modern day Cirrus aircraft since he originally trained in an old 1973 Cessna 172M with nothing more than one radio, two VOR’s and an ADF; he has questionably fond memories of those days!

His dad worked as a mechanic and a manager at United Airlines for 30 years. He always wanted to fly and because of his family’s close association with aviation, he was strongly encouraged and supported by them, “even if it made them a little nervous!”

“In my opinion the Cirrus is one of the best aircraft and platforms for flying, whether VFR, IFR, for pleasure or for work. It’s reliable, safe, and boasts truly the top-of-the-line technology. While I love all aircraft, it’s hard for me to see myself flying much else these days.”

In addition to his passion for flying, he’s also an avid musician and has been playing the fiddle since he was 5 and guitar since he was 15.

His classic understatement is, “Music has proven to be a less expensive hobby than aviation!”

I often need to be throughout California for depositions and other meetings. It simply does not make sense to fly commercially when hours can mean thousands of dollars. Even when the trip is for pleasure, the convenience of flexible departure/arrival makes the thought of commercial flight a nightmare. When it comes to private charter airfare, Patrick with Scanlon Aviation is simply the best!