“Other than a demo flight, I had never flown a Cirrus aircraft. Even though my Cirrus purchase included five days of training with a factory pilot in Knoxville, I was encouraged to get flight training before arriving in Knoxville. Fortunately for me, my Cirrus sales rep - Eric Sanderman - suggested talking with P6. In my initial meeting with Pete he clearly spelled out how P6 could prep me for the Knoxville training and get me confident in the aircraft. I bought a 2020 demo SR22 G6, which was housed in Caldwell and flown by Eric for demo flights. Pete and Eric worked together to find a way for me to use the airplane for my flight training, which helped me get familiar with my own plane and greatly saved me on rental expenses.
But the best part of my P6 experience was meeting Sandy Partowidjojo - my flight instructor. We flew about 35 hours over four months on Sunday mornings. Sandy was patient and knowledgeable. He was systematic in his training sequence as we logically moved from the basics to cross-country and instrument approaches. He was always very clear with his instruction and accommodated to customizing the training to my needs. He is also great company and has become a good friend.
I wanted to cement the pre-Knoxville training with the 17 hours of factory flight training by taking a long trip. Pete and Sandy worked with me on a plan where Sandy met me in Knoxville the day I finished the training and together we flew for four days. Our trip included a scenic flight over the Grand Canyon, doing a touch-and-go at Salt Lake City, overlying the Tetons in hard IFR and icing conditions with oxygen, flying over Mount Rushmore and stopping for a walking tour at Mackinac Island in Michigan on the way home. Sand was a great instructor, helpful co-pilot and fun companion on the trip. He knew when to let me figure it out on my own and when to jump in when I needed the help. I imagine one of the hardest parts of being a CFI is suppressing the urge to just take the controls or tell the student what to do. Sandy has the rare ability to gently guide me to the solution without being so forceful I miss the learning moment. And his command of all aspects of the aircraft and its systems meant he always had a solution.
In every interaction with everyone at P6 - I also have flown once with both David Pavoni and David Ayoub when Sandy had scheduling issues - the experience has been excellent. They are all professional and extremely competent but without being arrogant or intimidating. The whole crew is approachable and work with you to accommodate whatever need you have for the training. For me that included using my demo plan, getting me prepared for the factory experience and finding a way to have Sandy spend four days flying across the country with me.“
-Rob F
