Let LaRosa Start Your Adventure

LaRosa is a Certified Flight Instructor and has been flying over 40 years.  He has accumulated thousands of hours in everything from tailwheel aircraft to jet aircraft.  He is located at the Larry T. Neal Memorial Airpark in Slaton, Texas. (F49)

Flight Training Offered

TAILWHEEL ENDORSEMENT

Don’t miss out on the tailwheel craze sweeping the nation!  Get Your Tailwheel Endorsement from LaRosa
Contact [email protected] or text 806-543-1435

SPIN ENDORSEMENT

Want to become informed and comfortable with spins?  It’s a great endorsement to turn in to your insurance company!  (Currently not available for CFI candidates)
Contact [email protected] or text 806-543-1435

CESSNA 185 CHECKOUT

Getting your own Cessna SkyWagon and need a checkout?  Come see LaRosa, he has hundreds of hours in the 185.

Contact [email protected] or text 806-543-1435

FLIGHT REVIEW

Time for the dreaded flight review?  It doesn’t have to be dreaded!  Come see LaRosa, he’ll make it fun and educational.
Contact [email protected] or text 806-543-1435

HIGH PERFORMANCE/COMPLEX ENDORSEMENT

Wanting to move up to a high performance/complex aircraft.  LaRosa is qualified in tons of high performance/complex aircraft.

Contact [email protected] or text 806-543-1435

PRIMARY FLIGHT INSTRUCTION

Are you that person that jumped out there and purchased your own plane to learn to fly in?  Come see LaRosa, he’ll get you started!

Contact [email protected] or text 806-543-1435

In Bruce Willis’ movie “The Kid.”  The final scene appeals to anyone who has dreamed of being a pilot.  It’s the main character’s crowning achievement and personal dream.  It also highlights the essential things in life: Loving your family and friends while pursuing and achieving your dreams during life’s journey.  The last scene is particularly impactful.  The two younger characters are particularly impressed as the elder character, steeped in maturity and confidence, loads his family into his own plane.  
“As a seasoned aviator, I tend to surround myself with larger-than-life aviation characters.  It all seems so normal.  Yet, many of my neighbors, family, and friends have no idea what we do.  They can’t fathom what it looks like, feels like, and sounds like to do what we do.  However, with the advent of social media and HD cameras that fit in our pockets, I’ve developed a passion for bringing people along on these adventures.  These are not just singular adventures, but collections of vignettes that reflect not only aviation culture but the culture unique to Fat Tire Cowboys. “ – LaRosa

 

But, as LaRosa tells folks checking out aviation, “Let me tell you something.  Video games are very cool, but when you’re strapped in, things get real in a hurry.  Everything changes when you feel the deep exhaust tones from that big engine vibrating through your body as you strap in.  Everything changes when you smell avgas or jet fuel burning.  Everything changes when the speed and altitude become REAL.  Your senses heighten, your demeanor changes, and you become focused.  You conquer your fear and excitement with knowledge, skill, and training.  Then you do the unthinkable to most…. You take off in a plane….. and suddenly, it’s all you, and no one else!  You’re the only one that can get yourself down safely.  It is the ultimate in self-sufficiency and freedom! “ 
But, as LaRosa tells folks checking out aviation, “Let me tell you something.  Video games are very cool, but when you’re strapped in, things get real in a hurry.  Everything changes when you feel the deep exhaust tones from that big engine vibrating through your body as you strap in.  Everything changes when you smell avgas or jet fuel burning.  Everything changes when the speed and altitude become REAL.  Your senses heighten, your demeanor changes, and you become focused.  You conquer your fear and excitement with knowledge, skill, and training.  Then you do the unthinkable to most…. You take off in a plane….. and suddenly, it’s all you, and no one else!  You’re the only one that can get yourself down safely.  It is the ultimate in self-sufficiency and freedom! “ 
In Bruce Willis’ movie “The Kid.”  The final scene appeals to anyone who has dreamed of being a pilot.  It’s the main character’s crowning achievement and personal dream.  It also highlights the essential things in life: Loving your family and friends while pursuing and achieving your dreams during life’s journey.  The last scene is particularly impactful.  The two younger characters are particularly impressed as the elder character, steeped in maturity and confidence, loads his family into his own plane.  
“As a seasoned aviator, I tend to surround myself with larger-than-life aviation characters.  It all seems so normal.  Yet, many of my neighbors, family, and friends have no idea what we do.  They can’t fathom what it looks like, feels like, and sounds like to do what we do.  However, with the advent of social media and HD cameras that fit in our pockets, I’ve developed a passion for bringing people along on these adventures.  These are not just singular adventures, but collections of vignettes that reflect not only aviation culture but the culture unique to Fat Tire Cowboys. “ – LaRosa

LaRosa’s FTC brand is a unique blend of music, aviation, and Cowboy Culture.

LaRosa’s love for Cowboy Culture is well depicted in Larry McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove. “These men have their imperfections, but they are strong, moral, and hard riding. They are men of purpose and principles. They are masters of their domain. And for many of us, particularly those raised on the High Plains of Texas, our parents and grandparents modeled these principles.”

LaRosa and his band of Fat Tire Cowboys are showing the next generation how crazy cool aviation is.

 

“Flying is every bit as mind-blowing as the movies depict. I stop and take a breath every time I do it myself. It’s normal, but it’s not normal if you know what I mean.” – LaRosa