OH, THE PEOPLE WE MEET. IN HOOD River, Oregon, for a story on flight school and aerial imaging company TacAero (see "Off the Grid," January 2023 AOPA Pilot), we found a young woman mightily tugging a Cessna 172 uphill to its hangar. Just 17 years old, Ahnika Johnson uprooted and left home in Minnesota to work with TacAero's imaging division, Hood Tech Aero, joining this band of entrepreneurs and building flight time. "I am a private pilot with high performance and complex endorsements, as well as tailwheel time. I am currently working for Hood Tech Aero as a remote sensing technician and payload operator. We work on aerial targeting and surveys, then I process the imagery into final products for customers. I have about 130 hours of total time, and I am planning on continuing to build hours until I get my commercial certification. I am still exploring possibilities so I am not sure what my long-term plans will be, but I am open to wherever my path takes me."
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