Bay Area Flying Lessons

In the Beginning...

    
          Superman
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
        
    In the beginning, I wanted to fly like Superman.
      Many years later, I finally realized I could fly, 
      but in an airplane.

Then came the airplane...

Instructing in the '90s	Citation V - First Corporate Job	American Eagle San Juan, Puerto Rico 64 Seat ATR

  

Flight Instructing in the Bay Area	Lessons in a Cessna	Checking fuel before a Flying Lesson

                                      
Qualifications, certificates, and ratings

Certified Flight Instructor - Airplane Single Engine Land-Instrument
Airline Transport Pilot-Airplane Multi Engine Land
Airplane Single Engine Land/Sea-Commercial Privileges
CE-500 Citation V Type Rating

I instruct in the following aircraft types:  C152, C162, C172, C172SP, C172RG, C182, C206, G1000

I am a full-time flight instructor.  We can schedule your flying lessons on weekends or weekdays as my schedule is very flexible.


What will you get if you choose me for flight instruction?  The Top 5

• I love to teach and am here to help you pursue and achieve your goals and dreams of flying
• I teach according to the individual student based on each persons background, temperament, and unique ways of learning and absorbing material (I don't use a cookie cutter method)
• I am committed to safety in every flight, as well as having fun and enjoying the thrill of it all
• I am a career Full Time Flight Instructor and am flexible to meet your schedule
• I have experience with the airlines, in the corporate flying sector, as well as thousands of hours of instructing

Awards

CFI of the Year - West Valley Flying Club 2012
Professional Pilot of the Year - The Ninety-Nines Inc. - Southwest Section 2012
Professional Pilot of the Year - The Ninety-Nines Inc. - The Santa Clara Valley Chapter 2008
Professional Pilot of the Year - The Ninety-Nines Inc. - The Orange County Chapter 2001
Pilot of the Year - The Ninety-Nines Inc. - The Orange County Chapter 1998
Most Outstanding New Member - The Ninety-Nines Inc. - Orange County Chapter 1997


Biography

I graduated with a degree in Ornamental Horticulture and immediately set out to pursue my passion for plants by starting an Interior Plantscaping company, Garden Habitats Inc.  I received my Landscape Contracting License in 1982.
 
“After owning and operating a successful, “award winning” Interior Plantscaping company for more than 20 years, providing the interior plants for some of the largest and most prestigious companies in Southern California, and working with some of the most creative and talented people in the business, I was looking for a new and exciting challenge.
  
I had always wanted to fly, but that image had been of “flying like superman”.  Then one day while searching for this new challenge, I realized that maybe I could fulfill that dream, but in an airplane.  So I was off to the airport, found the perfect instructor, and 5 months later in 1996, got my private pilots certificate.  I joined the 99s – The International Organization of Women Pilots, and a whole new world opened up.  I was flying everywhere, meeting new people, flying in air races, and having a blast.
  
Next came my instrument rating.  Then in 1997 I decided it was time to sell my company and move on to new adventures.  I was bitten by the “flying bug” and I proceeded to get several more ratings, including my instructor rating, taught flying for a year, got a Citation Jet Type Rating, then got hired by the airlines and moved to sunny Puerto Rico to fly to 25 destinations in the Caribbean.  I was truly living my dream.
 
Then 911 happened and everything changed.  I stayed at the airlines another two years, flew throughout Florida, the Bahamas, and Cuba, and then resigned.
 
Realizing the industry changed after 911 and wasn't what I had hoped for, I left, only to discover that what I truly loved about aviation was flying small aircraft and the enthusiastic pilots and future pilots that can be found at local airports.
 
Sue Ballew
Certified Flight Instructor
sue@skytrekker.net  


To contact me, go to "Contact".



                                                                                My Special Friends
      

Alex-Fly Dog (running free now)	Dexter-The Young Man	Skyler - the happy new girl