Everyone in aviation has a unique story. Bear Flag Flyers' founding member, Matthew Curcio, started out at a little airport in Ohio, learning how to fly in a hand propped, wood framed, taildragger with no electrical system. The cost was $15/hr dry and $20/hr for the instructor. Not in the mid 1900's but in the 2010s. That operation was the work of a passionate aviator who wanted to share aviation with youth.
It worked. Because of that mentorship and hands on experience in aviation, Matthew found a passion that led to a move to California to start a career in aerospace. This turned into leading engineering teams on some of the most exciting aerospace projects of this century. Along the way he checked every box of "exciting aviation adventures". This included building experimentals, logging thousands of hours, flying a taildragger to every state in about a week, and proposing to his wife from an airplane hiking trip on Catalina. Fittingly, they met while he was commuting in his plane back and forth from KSNA to the Antelope Valley for work. The photo on this page is from one of those adventures flying his experimental to a dirt strip in McCarthy, Alaska to explore the Root and Kennicot Glacier in the background of the photo. He obtained a commercial pilots license and flight instructor rating but was dissapointed to find little availability for training aircraft to be able to share his experience. Needless to say, aviation is more than his hobby or career.
Events in early 2020 really drove the cost of aviation up. This was especially true at KSNA as the airport transitioned its management structure. This, unfortunately, drove a lot of aviators away. The solution was obvious but not easy to incept - KSNA needs a model that gives ownership like access to pilots and supports shared operational cost. This structure has long thrived in San Diego County airports but had never taken hold in Orange County.
It started with a Piper Archer in 2023 and has grown with additional aircraft, instructors and members. All of that experience designing, building, adventuring, and commuting in planes turned out to be really valuable for managing flight club aircraft operations. There have been hurdles along the way and we push past those for two reasons:
Being able to share aircraft with our neighbors and help them achieve these same dreams is more rewarding, for all of us, than doing it alone.
The future of American aeronautical supremancy, in the civilian and defense sectors, relies on many being able to experience and learn from hands on aviation, not just those who can pay for a red carpet experience.
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