Darlene Kellogg Rudisill

Darlene’s flying background is very diverse, having flown many types of aircraft from Luscombe to Lear Jet.

Her passion for flying began in San Diego with her first flight with her Grandad in a 1946 Luscombe 8A, which she still flies today in Alaska.

Darlene and her Grandad flew all around California and Arizona with nothing for navigation besides a chart, compass, and a watch.

Flying airplanes and enjoying nature are her passions.

She got her CFI and CFII and quickly discovered that her favorite thing to do is to share her passion for aviation. She enjoys the challenge of learning and teaching others to fly many different types of aircraft. In 1996 she was honored as the Los Angeles FSDO CFI of the year.

She did enjoy flying Lear Jets, mostly charter, for a while, but small planes and fight instructing are her true passions. It was fun to fly with a student in a C-150 and then get in a Bonanza with the next student, then a Cherokee, and then a multi-engine student with a Baron. Most of her days of instructing in SoCal were like that. Occasionally she got to teach someone in a tailwheel aircraft. She always loved flying and teaching in tailwheel aircraft and wished that she could do it more often, but there were not that many people interested in tailwheel aircraft down south.

Darlene always dreamed of Alaska and knew that she wanted to get a float-plane rating in Alaska one day. Finally, she just made it happen. When she got to Alaska and started her float training in a PA-18 Super Cub, she fell in love. It was even better than she had ever imagined.

The Kenai Peninsula, where she now resides, is her favorite place in the world. She has been flying here since 2007 as a flight instructor in tailwheel and float aircraft, as well as a charter pilot in the summer in a C-206 on straight floats. So many lakes, rivers, glaciers, ice fields, and more things than you can imagine, much of which are only accessible by float-plane.

She has never been so happy as she is now with her life and flying here in Alaska, and she wants to share it with you.