Going it alone

Mountain View native first to complete solo flight at Ozarka College

Ozarka College freshman Jacob Harness, left, and the college’s aviation-program director, Nick Lenczycki, stand in front of the Cessna 172 Skyhawk that Harness flew for his first solo flight earlier this month.
Ozarka College freshman Jacob Harness, left, and the college’s aviation-program director, Nick Lenczycki, stand in front of the Cessna 172 Skyhawk that Harness flew for his first solo flight earlier this month.

After flying a Cessna 172 Skyhawk around a portion of Melbourne on April 13, Mountain View native Jacob Harness became the first Ozarka College aviation-program student to complete a solo flight.

“It feels kind of cool. I’m the first one,” the 19-year-old freshman said. “It’s kind of neat being the first one ever to do something.”

Before enrolling in Ozarka College’s Associate of Science in professional pilot-aviation degree program, which began in August 2015, Harness took a few flight classes with a local instructor in his hometown of Mountain View, earning Harness enough credits to get a head start in the program.

“I got enough hours that gave me credit for the first portion, so I could start in Stage 2,” he said.

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