Page 19 - Volume 14 Number 4

Bonanza in which he would take me flying. My mom and aunt both had their pilot’s certificate as well.
COPA Pilot: With all of the pilots in the family, when did you decide to get your private pilot certificate?
Kirby: When I was young I knew I couldn’t really afford to fly, so I put it off until I had more time and money. Alison knew that I wanted to learn how to fly, so in 2009 she gave me an introductory flight for my birthday and I earned my certificate in November of that year.
COPA Pilot: Do you have any other ratings?
Kirby: I attained my instrument rating in April 2011. In 2016, I attended a C2A formation flying clinic and fell in love with it. It was very helpful for my stick and rudder skills. I was also in awe of the safety pilots (former military pilots) who worked with us; one of them was the late Harry Skirm.
COPA Pilot: How did you learn about the Cirrus?
Kirby: I went to the 2005 Masters Tournament in Augusta with some friends and we chartered a small plane. There was a Cirrus at the airport that I saw when we disembarked and I thought it was the most beautiful airplane I’d ever seen. As soon as I started taking flying lessons, I immediately joined COPA. I knew that was the airplane I was going to buy. I had identified what model, generation, color – everything – and three months after I received my PPL, I found the exact Cirrus I wanted on the COPA site.
In 2016 Ken (shown here in his SR22 in front) attended his first C2A flying clinic and fell in love with formation flying.
COPA Pilot: What sort of flying do you do – personal, business or both?
Kirby: It is 100 percent personal. We’ve flown all over the United States. A memorable COPA trip we took was island hopping in the Caribbean. The communications were a bit of an issue as some islands were French speaking. Many of them didn’t have radar, so we had to position report. We were in a group of 10 airplanes, which challenged their ability to handle that many at once. But we still had a lot of fun and enjoyed spending time with other COPA members.
Volume 14, Number 4
COPA Pilot ■ 17