Aragon Aviation, Inc.

Cecilia Aragon Airshows

Flight Instruction

Talks and Seminars

DCA Home Page

 

Contents:

Super Decathlon For Rent

About the Instructor

Learning to Fly

Aerobatics and
Spin Training

Stall/Spin Safety Course

Unusual Attitude
Recovery Course

Aerobatic Course

Suggested Reading

Aragon Aviation, Inc.

Flight Instruction and Aircraft Rental

PO Box 44
Sequim WA 98382


 

Tailwheel and Aerobatic Instruction in the Super Decathlon

All aerobatic courses and tailwheel instruction are given in an American Champion Super Decathlon (180 hp, tandem, fully aerobatic tailwheel aircraft). The Decathlon is the best basic aerobatic trainer available. Instruction is available in the Seattle area at Paine Field, Arlington, Jefferson County, or Renton. Or we can bring the aircraft to you! Gift certificates for aerobatic rides are also available. Please call or e-mail for more information.

RATES:
Instruction (ground and flight): $100/hour ($120/hour if we use your airplane)
(Parachute and headset rental is included. Block discount rates for instruction and flight time are available -- please contact us for more information.)
Gift certificates are available.

 

 

About the Instructor

Cecilia Aragon, a former member of the United States Unlimited Aerobatic Team and California State Unlimited Aerobatic Champion, was a medalist at the 1994 World Aerobatic Championships and the 1993 U.S. National Aerobatic Championships.

Aragon was a professional airshow performer since 1990, flying in front of millions of spectators in her custom-built Sabre 320. She is also an aerobatic competition pilot who has won numerous trophies in regional, national, and international competition and is an International Aerobatic Club competition judge.


Cecilia Aragon holds the ATP certificate, and has over 5,000 hours of flight time, including over 2,500 hours as a flight instructor, 3,000 tailwheel, and over 1,500 hours of aerobatics. She is a certificated flight instructor with single- and multi-engine land, instrument, and glider ratings, and has been a CFI since 1987.

She specializes in primary, aerobatic, and unusual attitude recovery training, with an additional specialty in working with individuals who have a fear of flying.

Instruction is available at the following locations in the Seattle area:

  • KPAE (Paine Field), KAWO (Arlington), KRNT (Renton), 0S9 (Jefferson County)  

We can also bring the aircraft to you. Please call or e-mail for more information.

 

 

Learning to Fly

Maybe you've dreamed of leaping into the sky and seeing the earth fall away beneath you. Or maybe you're looking for the convenience of traveling to your favorite weekend getaway in an hour or two instead of eight hours over winding roads. Or perhaps you're thinking of a career flying 747s or F-16s.

Whatever your goals, the first step is an introductory flight with a good flight instructor. You'll get a chance to work the controls and see if flying is for you. Call to schedule a flight today.

 

Tailwheel Flying

If you're thinking of learning to fly, consider learning in a taildragger. Our experience shows it doesn't take any longer to obtain your private pilot license, but you'll develop good habits along the way. Should you then want to fly a nosewheel airplane, you'll find the transition to be smooth.

If you already have your pilot's license, the tailwheel transition will increase your skill and proficiency. You'll learn to be more sensitive to the wind; your judgment of height above the ground will improve; when you fly tricycle gear again, you'll find your landings are smoother. But best of all, you'll have gone back to the simple joy of flying, the coordination of stick and rudder, the feel of an airplane which is sometimes lost in today's training with its emphasis on procedures, radios, and getting from point A to point B.

 

 

Aerobatics and Spin Training for Pilots

If you're like many pilots, you haven't flown a steep turn or a stall since your last flight review or even your primary training. Are you comfortable with your airplane in all attitudes and airspeeds? Do you know how to recover from a spin? What will you do if you find yourself in an unusual attitude, or even inverted, due to turbulence or a vortex encounter?

Spin training and basic aerobatic training aren't only for "stunt" pilots; they're for anyone who wants to become a safer pilot, learn about the edges of the envelope of their airplane, and have a lot of fun in the process.

We offer a variety of courses from a basic stall/spin safety course to an introductory aerobatic course, to advanced competition aerobatic training. Unusual attitude recovery and emergency procedures are covered in all our courses.

 

 

Stall/Spin Safety Course

  • 2.5 hours ground time, 1.5 hours flight time
  • Aerodynamics of stalls and spins
  • Stall and spin recognition
  • Common causes of accidental spins
  • Emergency spin recovery procedures
This course consists of two sessions in the Decathlon (8KCAB). The first lesson covers aircraft familiarization, coordination exercises, steep turns, power-on and power-off stalls, rudder stalls, introduction to spins. The second lesson adds orientation during a spin, incipient and developed spin recovery, common accidental spins, and emergency spin recovery.

 

 

Unusual Attitude Recovery Course

  • 5 hours ground time, 3 hours flight time
  • All material in stall/spin safety course
  • Unusual attitude recoveries
  • Recovery from inverted
  • Introduction to basic aerobatics (spin, roll, loop)
  • Aerobatic safety
  • Physiological factors
  • Use of parachute
This course consists of four sessions in the Decathlon (8KCAB). The first two lessons are the same as the stall/spin course. The third lesson introduces inverted flight and unusual attitude recovery, including recoveries from inverted attitudes following wake turbulence encounters. The fourth lesson reviews the first three and introduces the aileron roll and loop.

 

 

Aerobatic Course

  • 17 hours ground time, 10 hours flight time
  • Aerobatic safety, preflight
  • Use and care of parachute
  • FARs
  • Physiological factors
  • Aerodynamics as related to aerobatics
  • Unusual attitude recoveries
  • Spins
  • Loops
  • Aileron rolls
  • Slow rolls
  • Immelmanns
  • Split-Ss
  • Half cuban eights
  • Half reverse cuban eights
  • Hammerheads
  • Barrel rolls
  • Wingovers
  • Inverted flight, turns, and stalls
An introductory aerobatic course for those who are interested in solo checkout in the Decathlon. Approximately 13 sessions in the Decathlon are included, for a total of 10 hours flight time. Note: solo proficiency not guaranteed at the end of 10 hours.

 

 

Suggested Reading on Aerobatics


Cole, Duane. Conquest of Lines and Symmetry. Ken Cook Transnational, Milwaukee, WI, 1970.
Cole, Duane. Roll Around A Point. Ken Cook Company, Milwaukee, WI, 1976.
Kershner, William K. The Basic Aerobatic Manual. Iowa State University Press, Ames, Iowa, 1987.
Langewiesche, Wolfgang. Stick and Rudder. McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York, 1944/1972.
Mason, Sammy. Stalls, Spins and Safety. McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York, 1982.
Medore, Lt. Col. Arthur S. Primary Aerobatic Flight Training. Aviation Book Company, Glendale, CA, 1970.
Mueller, Eric and Annette Carson. Flight Unlimited. The Eastern Press Ltd., London, 1983.
O'Dell, Bob. Aerobatics Today. St. Martin's Press, New York, 1980.
Szurovy, Geza and Mike Goulian. Basic Aerobatics. Tab Books, Blue Ridge Summit, PA, 1994.
Thomas, Bill. Fly for Fun. Bill Thomas, 1985.
Williams, Neil. Aerobatics. Airlife Publications, England, 1975.