Getting to Know Aidan Lara

At age 3, Aidan looked up whenever he heard an airplane. He maintained that curiosity when, at age 8, he had his first Young Eagle flight at Sequim Valley Airport with Joe Platt in his C-150 in 2013.

He became a regular at our Chapter YE 430 rallies. He enjoyed meeting the pilots who shared their stories and advice and became great supporters in his aviation adventures. He became a volunteer at our YE rallies and plans next year to give kids flights as the PIC.

Aidan grew up in Sequim and graduated from Sequim High School in 2023. He is presently attending Peninsula Community College and plans to transfer to the University of Washington, majoring in Aerospace Engineering. His vocational aspirations as a young kid were to become a lawyer or a politician. One of his favorite endeavors in high school was debating. He now realizes aviation is the right path for his future.

Three days before his check ride, he was practicing maneuvers at 4000’ when the engine began shaking and the RPMs were going down. He went through his check list and everything else seemed in order and working. When the shaking didn’t stop, he declared an emergency and, since he was close to W28, he had enough altitude to circle until in position to land and turn off the runway. Because of this “adventure,” he realized that because of all the training he had received from his instructor, Jack, he was able to perform the necessary measures to safely land the airplane.

His next aviation event happened on his cross-country solo to Pearson Field Airport (KVUO) in Vancouver, WA. Shortly before arriving, he realized he had lost radio contact with Flight Service; he could hear them, but they could not hear him. He switched to Portland Tower and safely landed at KVUO. He later was told the temporary loss of radio communication was caused by the aurora borealis which happened the night before his flight. Several aircraft had also experienced the same radio problem.