From Cynthia's blog ·
Thank you, Te!
I met Teuila Tauiliili Pafuti Gardner in September 2026, ironically, through the seller of the plane of the deal that fell through twelve hours after I sent onboarding packets to my pilots who were ready and hungry to begin their training in my new twin. Thankfully, I never provided the tail number nor sent the contract to my trainees "just in case" something went awry.
Te wasn't even told by the seller the deal was a no-go; I told her. As a result of multiple conversations she and I had, we decided we liked each other well enough to proceed... assuming, of course, I could find another plane (which I did). Te was risking a lot by leaving her job a couple of weeks early to train my new team; I was risking a lot by having a total stranger stay in my home for three weeks. The contract Te and I put together was I would guarantee her 80 hours of flight time, which is what she needed to cross the magic number of 1500 to fulfill her dream of flying with the Bigs.
My mechanic, Chris, and I flew to WichitalFalls, TX on October 5. On the 6th, while Chris and the aircraft broker, Nick, conducted the preflight inspection, I drove 11 hours return to pick Te up from her home in Conroe, TX and drove the two of us back up to the Houston area, arriving about an hour after the guys finished the inspection. We all went to dinner to celebrate, and the sale for N7887Y (Alice) was completed the next morning, on the 7th.
Te began her training (although she has 835 hours flying multis and 800 hours teaching in multis, she needed a few more hours as per my insurance requirements to help me ferry the plane back to Hayward (KHWD)). She flew with Bekah Jordan, who flew out from Lubbock, TX and they blasted through the training in one day. As Te's agent (of sorts), I asked her to rest the next day and we left on Friday, October 9, to begin our day-and-a-half, 13.1 hour, 1600+nm flight back to CA. It was So. Much. Fun.
We left Kickapoo Downtown Airport (KCWC) at about 0930, refueled at El Paso Airport (KELP) - and got to fly in and out of Mexico airspace as part of our IFR filed flight - then a short stop at Gila Bend Municipal Airport (E63) in AZ to refuel again, stopping for the evening at Camarillo Airport (KCMA) in southern CA for a great dinner, a clean hotel room with a comfortable bed, and a delicious brunch the next morning at the Waypoint Cafe located at the airport before refueling one last time before flying to Alice's new home base.
We got in mid-afternoon and took the rest of Saturday and all of Sunday off, with Te beginning training in earnest on Monday, October 12. We ended up with seven pilots with a range of experience that spanned from zero time in a Piper twin Comanche to a couple who were already MEIs and ready to begin training others but just needed a bit of additional hours to nail down proficiency and returned confidence. Alice flew 39.7 hours her first week, 18 hours her second week, and 26.6 hours her third and last week Te was with us, totaling 84.3 hours.
Te was amazing! Her calm demeanor and delightful sense of humor kept her lessons interesting and focused, and all of us fell in love with her immediately. In fact, on her penultimate flight on Friday evening Te crossed the magic number of 1500 hours and her trainee created a tracing of Te's accomplishment on her iPad, which she flew. Our last crew meeting was on the 31st, Halloween, and a few of the team members showed up in costume. My husband and I took Te to one of our favorite restaurants for dinner and our favorite server surprised Te with a small chocolate cake with lit candles that spelled out 1-5-0-0. It was truly magical.
Te is now back in Texas preparing to drive to New York to (hopefully) begin her next journey of being a corporate pilot for a regional airline on the east coast. We all wish her luck in this endeavor!