Most of the time, when thinking about amateur radio, we usually consider the location of the person on the other side of the microphone as either being inside their ham shack, driving down the highway, or walking around while talking on their HT. It’s not often when we look up into the friendly skies while trying to make our next contact. That may change in the near future as one of our own Skywarn participants earns his private pilot certificate.
By day, Conway Hawn, N1CLH, practices law in Houston, Missouri. For the past year, during his spare time, he has been working toward meeting the requirements to obtain his private pilot certificate. This entails passing a medical exam, obtaining between 40 and 80 flight hours, passing a written exam, passing an oral exam, and passing a “check ride” with a Designated Pilot Examiner.
“I’m hoping it will take me about another 6 to 12 months to obtain my certificate,” says Hawn who lives 2 1/2 hours round trip from the nearest flight instructor. This long drive, when factored in with his work schedule and other factors, only leaves time for about three lessons per month.
N1CLH took his first solo flight in September in a Cessna 152. “It was a blast!” says an enthusiastic Hawn who has been interested in aviation since he was a young child. “My interest was rekindled last year when I attended a field trip with my son at the local airport,” he says.
With all of his attention focused on learning whatever topic his instructor is trying to teach, N1CLH has not yet had a chance to operate amateur radio from up in the air. He says that may change after he has earned his private pilot certificate. Right now, Conway Hawn, N1CLH, uses his Yaesu FT-1XD HT to monitor local airport traffic on the VHF AM aircraft band. Once he’s in the air and has the ability to operate, he says that we can certainly expect to hear him operating from his aeronautical mobile right here on the Southwest Missouri Regional Skywarn repeater system.