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Ron Stoutz, Flight Instructor, November 1973
Edited by David Barth January 2016. Photo was taken by David Barth.
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| My private pilot instructor, Ron Stoutz, November 1973. |
This picture of my flight instructor, Ron Stoutz, was taken at Chaparral airstrip, about 30 miles east of Arapahoe Airport (subsequently renamed Centennial Airport), November 1973. (I received my private pilot's license in 1974.)
A developer was attempting to establish a rural community in order to sell building plots. To help entice buyers, he put in this runway in an attempt to attract aviation-oriented buyers. My flight instructor, Ron Stoutz, became friends with the developer and took his students, like me, to the airport to practice navigating to and landing on the airstrip. The developer appreciated pilots flying to the strip in the hope that it would help market his land sales.
Ron took me to Chaparral twice, once during the day, when this picture of him was taken, and again on a moonless night when we were able to find the airport by flying an outbound radial from the Kiowa VOR a certain number of miles. I convinced Ron to let me do a touch-and-go in the dark. We touched down on the northbound runway and I immediately applied power to clear the trees at the north end of the strip. That landing gave me confidence for night navigation and landing.
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| Chaparral Airstrip, 30 miles west of Arapahoe Airport, Colorado, November 1973. |