Sasquatch Aviation is a Part 61 flight school, aircraft maintenance shop, private charter broker, and flight club operating at Aurora State Airport (KUAO) in Aurora, Oregon. The company was founded by Tom Landry, who began his aviation training at North Central Institute in Clarksville, Tennessee in 2008 and has accumulated over 15 years of professional experience as both a pilot and a licensed A&P IA mechanic. Landry built Sasquatch Aviation around a dual commitment to instructional quality and technical airworthiness, positioning the school so that the same organization responsible for teaching pilots is also directly responsible for maintaining the aircraft they fly in. The school's name and visual identity — a sunglasses-wearing sasquatch — reflect the Pacific Northwest character of the operation and its emphasis on adventure-oriented flying.   Sasquatch Aviation operates as a full-service aviation business rather than a flight school alone. In addition to primary and advanced flight training, the company offers private charter brokerage, pilot services (including providing pilots to fly owner aircraft on the owner's schedule), aircraft management, hangar storage, aircraft parts sales, oxygen service, and an ongoing maintenance operation serving government agency flight departments and general aviation aircraft owners across the Portland metropolitan area. This breadth of services is intentional: Sasquatch is designed to serve pilots at every stage of aircraft ownership and flight career, from a first discovery flight through recurring proficiency and aircraft maintenance oversight.   The school offers training for the Private Pilot certificate, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot certificate, CFI and CFII certificates, Tailwheel endorsement, and spin, upset recovery, and aerobatic training in a dedicated aerobatic aircraft. Multi-engine training is listed on the website as forthcoming. Sasquatch's ground school partnership is with The Finer Points, an online ground school program that the school integrates into its student training pipeline and offers at a 25% discount to its students. The school explicitly incorporates adventure into its cross-country training requirements, routing students to destinations like Orcas Island or Reno rather than conducting generic local flights. Veterans and first responders receive a 25% discount on CFI hourly rates.   The instructional team includes Chief Flight Instructor Alan Koziol, who currently serves as an Alaska Airlines pilot in addition to leading Sasquatch's training program; Jeremiah Harkema, a Navy veteran who transitioned into CFI work following his military career; Casey Brogdon, who holds CFI, CFII, and MEI certificates and brings 17 years of law enforcement experience including detective and SWAT service before entering full-time aviation; and Tyler Lehmann, a decade-long fixture at the Aurora airport with over 1,000 hours logged. Chad Robertson, the shop manager, additionally holds CFI and CFII credentials earned recently alongside his A&P IA license, which dates to 2014. The maintenance team includes founder Tom Landry (A&P IA), Chad Robertson (A&P IA, CFI​/​CFII), Nat Dunn (A&P since 2015, with Sasquatch since 2019), Mike Friedley (auto mechanic background transitioning to aviation), Ken Griffin (A&P since 2002, Army veteran), and Ben Vander Lugt (A&P technician in training, Alaska native). Dan Owczarzak handles business operations, contract management, and charter brokerage. The combined A&P​/​IA experience across the maintenance team exceeds 50 years.

Home Airport(s)

Aurora State Airport (ICAO: KUAO, FAA LID: UAO; no IATA designation) is a public-use general aviation airport owned and operated by the Oregon Department of Aviation, located approximately 1 mile northwest of the central business district of Aurora, in Marion County, Oregon. The airport sits at a surveyed elevation of 199 feet MSL and covers 144 acres. It is found on the Seattle sectional chart. In 2009, the Oregon State Legislature formally designated the airport as Wes Lematta Field at Aurora State Airport, honoring the late founder of Columbia Helicopters, which is headquartered on the northeast corner of the field. Van's Aircraft — the manufacturer of the RV series of amateur-built aircraft, one of the most prolific kit aircraft lines in the world — is also based at KUAO, giving the airport a notable manufacturing identity alongside its GA training role.   The airport was originally constructed by the United States Army Air Forces in 1943 as Aurora Flight Strip, serving as an outlying support field to Portland Army Air Base during World War II. After the war it was transferred to state government use via the War Assets Administration and has since evolved into one of the busiest general aviation airports in Oregon. For the 12-month period ending September 2021, KUAO logged approximately 94,935 operations — an average of 260 per day, with 91% general aviation and 8% air taxi. There were at that time 271 based aircraft, including 208 single-engine, 15 multi-engine, 35 jets, 9 helicopters, 3 gliders, and 1 ultralight.   An FAA control tower opened at KUAO in late 2015, converting the airspace to Class D during tower hours. The tower operates daily from 0700 to 2000 local time. Tower and CTAF frequency is 120.35; ground control is 119.15; ATIS​/​ASOS is on 118.525 (with a published phone number for self-briefing). When the tower is closed, 120.35 serves as the CTAF and clearance delivery moves to 119.95. Portland TRACON (P80) provides approach and departure services, reachable on 118.1 (high altitude) and 126.0 (low altitude). The airport is within Seattle ARTCC (ZSE) airspace.   KUAO has a single runway, designated 17​/​35, measuring 5,003 feet by 100 feet on an asphalt surface in excellent condition with a saw-cut grooved treatment. A 150-foot blast pad is located at the south (Runway 35) end. Runway 17 supports a LOC​/​DME instrument approach and is equipped with an ODALS (Omnidirectional Approach Lighting System) and a 4-box VASI on the right side with a 3.5-degree glide path angle. Runway 35 is equipped with a 4-box VASI on the left side at a 3.25-degree glide path. Runway markings are precision instrument on both ends, in good condition. Medium-intensity runway edge lighting, VASI systems, and the ODALS on Runway 17 can all be activated by pilot-controlled lighting on the CTAF when the tower is closed. Runway 35 is designated the calm-wind runway when winds are below 5 knots. A published remark notes a 30-foot powerline 2,100 feet from the Runway 17 threshold, marked with warning balls. Weight bearing capacity is 30,000 pounds single wheel and 45,000 pounds dual wheel. Published FAA remarks note frequent instrument approach traffic to Runway 17, non-standard wingtip clearance on all taxilanes, and the regular presence of migratory birds, coyotes, and deer on and in the vicinity of the airport. Active noise abatement procedures are in effect, with sensitivity areas defined north of Runway 17 and southeast and southwest of Runway 35; pilots are instructed to avoid low-level overflights of surrounding residential communities.   The training environment at KUAO is notably rich for student pilots based in the Portland metro region. The Class D airspace and active tower expose primary students to real ATC communication from their earliest lessons — a valuable contrast to uncontrolled training airports, and directly relevant to flying in the broader Portland airspace. KUAO sits midway between Salem McNary Field (to the south) and Portland International Airport (to the north), placing student pilots within easy range of meaningful cross-country destinations while remaining within a manageable distance of the home field. The airport's geography — the Willamette Valley floor, the Cascades to the east, the Coast Range to the west, the Columbia River Gorge to the north, and Mount Hood prominently visible — provides a visually diverse and navigationally instructive training environment. Three fixed-base operators serve the field: Aurora Aviation, Atlantic FBO Network (focused on business jet operations), and Willamette Aviation. Both Aurora Aviation and Willamette Aviation offer competing flight instruction and aircraft rental services alongside Sasquatch, giving KUAO one of the denser concentrations of flight training activity of any general aviation airport in Oregon.

Fleet and Facilities

Sasquatch Aviation operates two aircraft in its primary training and club fleet, with a third dedicated aerobatic aircraft used exclusively for specialized instruction. The school maintains two physical locations at KUAO: the Flight Office at 14338 Stenbock Way NE, Aurora, OR 97002, and a separate Maintenance Office at 23055 Airport Rd NE, Aurora, OR 97002. The maintenance facility is a full-service A&P shop with a dedicated customer portal (powered by Quantum-MX) for maintenance tracking.   Piper PA-28 Archer The Piper Archer is Sasquatch's primary training aircraft, billed at $210 per hour. The PA-28 Archer is a four-seat, low-wing piston single powered by a Lycoming O-360 producing 180 horsepower. Its tapered wing design — introduced on later PA-28 models — delivers progressive, predictable stall characteristics that build student confidence in slow-flight and stall recovery exercises. Gross weight is 2,550 pounds and cruise speed is approximately 128 knots. Sasquatch's Archer is equipped with a notably advanced avionics package for a training aircraft: dual Garmin G5 electronic flight instruments (replacing legacy analog attitude and directional indicators), a Garmin GTN 750 touchscreen GPS​/​NAV​/​COM navigator, and a Garmin GFC 500 autopilot. This glass-forward panel gives students direct exposure to the avionics suite common across modern general aviation aircraft, including IFR-certified GPS navigation and coupled autopilot operation — training-relevant equipment that most schools offering legacy-panel aircraft cannot provide.   Piper Tri-Pacer (Tailwheel Conversion) The Piper Tri-Pacer in its tailwheel-converted configuration is offered at $180 per hour and serves as the school's primary stick-and-rudder trainer and tailwheel endorsement platform. The Tri-Pacer was originally produced by Piper in the 1950s as a tricycle-gear aircraft; the tailwheel conversion removes the nosewheel and replaces it with a tailwheel, fundamentally changing the ground handling dynamics and demanding active rudder coordination throughout the takeoff and landing roll. The conversion makes the Tri-Pacer a cost-effective and accessible tailwheel trainer with cabin comfort superior to many tandem-seat tailwheel aircraft. Training in a tailwheel aircraft builds precision in rudder use, crosswind technique, and overall stick-and-rudder awareness that transfers directly to proficiency in any aircraft type.   American Champion 8KCAB Super Decathlon The Super Decathlon is used exclusively for Sasquatch's specialized advanced training curriculum — tailwheel transition in an aerobatic context, spin and upset recovery, aerobatic primary courses, and emergency maneuver training. The 8KCAB is a tandem two-seat, tailwheel, aerobatic aircraft certificated for +6​/​-5G loads and capable of sustained inverted flight, supported by an inverted fuel system. It is powered by a Lycoming AEIO-360 engine. The Super Decathlon is one of the most widely used aerobatic trainers in the United States and is a standard aircraft for FAA CFI spin endorsement training. Sasquatch charges $275 per hour for tailwheel transition in the Super Decathlon, $300 per hour for aerobatic instruction, $475 for the CFI spin endorsement package, $300 for the introduction to aerobatics flight, $1,500 for the Acrobat Primary Course (a three-day structured program covering the primary IAC competition category, including ground instruction, headset, and parachute), and $1,500 for the Emergency Maneuver Training course targeting loss-of-control-in-flight scenarios.

Hours of Operation

Aurora State Airport's tower operates daily from 0700 to 2000 local time. FAA records list the airport as attended daily 0700–2000 local. Sasquatch Aviation does not publish fixed daily business hours on its website; scheduling is handled directly through the school's contact form. The Flight Office is located at 14338 Stenbock Way NE, Aurora, OR 97002. The Flight Club membership structure, which runs $75 per month for student pilots and $50 per month for club pilots, is designed to provide flexible, ongoing access to aircraft and instructors outside a fixed schedule.

Additional Notes

The integration of a fully staffed A&P maintenance shop with an active flight school is the defining structural feature of Sasquatch Aviation, and it is worth examining concretely. Most independent flight schools either own and self-maintain a small fleet with minimal in-house mechanical depth or depend entirely on third-party maintenance providers. At Sasquatch, the maintenance operation is a substantive revenue line staffed by multiple A&P and A&P IA certificated mechanics — including the founder — with a combined claimed experience exceeding 50 years and a published client base that includes government agency flight departments. The implication for training students is direct: the aircraft are maintained by the same organization's mechanics, not outsourced, and the shop's commercial reputation is staked on the airworthiness of every aircraft it releases. Separately, the shop rate of $160 per hour — higher than some local alternatives by Sasquatch's own acknowledgment — reflects this positioning.   The aerobatic and emergency maneuver curriculum is a differentiator that merits specific attention for Oregon-area pilots evaluating training options. Loss-of-control-in-flight consistently ranks as one of the leading fatal accident categories in general aviation, and access to structured upset recovery and spin training in a purpose-built aerobatic aircraft — rather than a standard trainer reluctantly pushed to its margins — is uncommon at small independent schools. The Super Decathlon's +6​/​-5G certification and inverted fuel system allow instructors to demonstrate full stall-spin scenarios, sustained inverted flight, and recovery from unusual attitudes in a controlled, replicable way. The Emergency Maneuver Training and Acrobat Primary Course offerings suggest a school with a genuine commitment to the safety-through-proficiency philosophy rather than aerobatics as a novelty offering.   KUAO's position in the Portland metro area is also commercially relevant. Aurora is approximately 25 miles south of Portland, accessible from the southern suburbs without the complexity and cost of operating near Portland International Airport (PDX). The field is busy — averaging 260 operations per day — which exposes students to realistic ATC traffic without PDX's Bravo airspace overhead. The airport's proximity to diverse Pacific Northwest terrain makes cross-country training at Sasquatch distinctly geographic: students training here can feasibly fly coastal Oregon, the Columbia Gorge, the Cascades, and destinations across Washington and Idaho within cross-country training requirements, consistent with the school's stated practice of designing required cross-country flights as genuine adventures rather than rote navigation exercises.