• About

Anissa was very helpful preparing me for the oral portion of my [Private Pilot] checkride. After the initial interview, she customized my individual training sessions to cover the areas where I needed more depth. She paid close attention to details commonly recognized as crucial for the successful passing of the exam. Even more so, her teaching techniques helped me thoroughly understand the problem at hand, thus preparing me not only for passing my checkride, but more importantly for me to become safe pilot in future. Her lessons are to be remembered for life.

- G.G. Private Pilot

Anissa Mohler helped me for preparing my Commercial check ride mainly with ground instruction. Anissa always had a well planned lesson plan; she explained what we were going to establish by the end of each particular session. All sessions were interactive; she asked questions, explained all missing elements, made the sessions fun while increasing my confidence. Outside of the ground sessions, I sent my questions to Anissa; she answered them as soon as she became available. In the morning of my check ride, Anissa showed up before my oral exam; helped me make sure that I had all papers required to prove the airworthiness of my aircraft. She extended the plane’s reservation for me when the oral exam got extended.
Anissa is extremely smart, very knowledgeable, very responsive, she loves teaching and flying, and she has a great personality. I would definitely work with Anissa for any flight training.

- O.B. Commercial Pilot

Availability

Currently I train regularly between 9:00 AM and 6:00 PM Monday through Friday. I'm able to train on most holidays except Thanksgiving and Christmas. Please contact me to discuss scheduling options.

About Anissa Mohler

I am an FAA Certified Flight Instructor (CFI), Instrument Instructor (CFII), Advanced Ground Instructor (AGI), Instrument Ground Instructor (IGI), and a passionate aviator. Unlike the majority of pilots I know. I am not one of those people that grew up always wanting to fly an airplane. While my father was a naval aviator in the Vietnam War and told many stories about flying in the E-2 Hawkeye I decided I wanted to be an astronaut when I was in grade school! Like most people I went on with my life and that dream quickly went to the wayside. My husband earned his Private Pilot Certificate in 2009 when he decided he was tired of driving up to Willows one weekend a month. (It takes 3-4 hours to get there on a good day by car, it takes only a little over an hour by Cessna.) After he got his certificate, he wanted me to fly with him but I refused for years. I just did not want to know the pilot is what I told myself. I had no fear of heights and no problem flying commercially but I did not want to be in a small plane with my husband at the controls.

Finally, my husband and his CFI talked me into doing what is called "Pinch Hitter" training. This training is designed for the non-flying partner of a pilot. The point of the course is to teach this person enough that they would be able to declare an emergency, find and navigate to a nearby airport and land a plane on airport property well enought to walk away from plane in case their pilot became incapacitated. They thought it might get me over whatever my problem was to the point where I'd fly with my husband.

Little did they know what that Pinch Hitter flight would trigger! The moment I got my hands on the controls and got the feel of the aircraft and the wind beneath the plane's wings I was hooked. I was very afraid, but I fell in love with flying on the first flight. By the end of the third flight, when the CFI decided I could land a plane and walk away, I decided I wanted to be a pilot. I haven't looked back since.

In 5 years, with a full time day job, I earned my Private, Commercial and Flight Instructor Certificates and an Instrument Rating. I've flown solo to 5 different states and have plans to fly to more. I've landed at 37 airports in a single day. My favorite type of personal flying is flying cross country to airports I've never been to before. I love flying for fun! You may wonder how I managed to do that with a full time job. The answer is one word. Passion. I am very passionate about flying. In 2016 I turned my passion into my vocation and left my job in the tech industry to work full time as a flight instructor, continuing my own education and becoming an Instrument Instructor in 2017.

I've accepted the full time duties and responsibilities of Flight Instructor for two reasons.

1. I love to fly and I want to share that love with others.
2. I want to use my skills, knowledge and experience and the experience of those that have taught me to develop pilots that are safe and proficient.

I am not instructing to build time. I instruct because I want to be able to grant others the same gift of flight that was granted to me. I honestly enjoy it! I want to ensure both new and experienced pilots are safe and have fun when training and learning. I know what it's like to go from being afraid to take the controls to become the Pilot in Command. I worked in high tech in the Silicon Valley for 19 years before leaving my day job to instruct full time. I know - intimately - the challenges of the Bay Area tech worker and balancing work and life and learning how to fly. I can tell you, if I can do it, you can too!

I can't wait to share my passion for flight with you. I'll work with you to create a personalized training program that is designed to help you meet your goals within your busy schedule. It can be as short as a single lesson or as long as a certificate or rating or endorsement. I am a professional and you can trust me to respect you, your time and your goals. Contact me and let's get you started on the aviation journey to the flight of your dreams!

What does AOA Stand For?

For those who are familiar with aviation concepts - "AOA" is short for Angle of Attack. Angle of attack, combined with airspeed, are the two ingredients that create lift. However, that's not what "AOA" stands for in this case.

"AOA" stands for "Adult Onset Aviator", that's what I call myself. I didn't catch the flying bug until long into adulthood. So now you know :)