by Bruce Estes
This month’s spotlight is on Christopher Braun, the owner of NorCal Flight Center. Christopher started flying in 1999. Like a lot of us, Christopher had always dreamed of flying since he was a child. Christopher got an early version of Microsoft Flight Sim when he was in third grade and this only fueled his desire to fly. Currently, Christopher holds a Commercial certificate with an Instrument rating, a tailwheel ndorsement, and has about 650 hours of flight time.

When Christopher opened NorCal Flight Center in June 2015, many people thought he was crazy. Another flight school at Lincoln Airport? It will never work. Little did these people know about Christopher’s prior experience and education, fueled by a strong entrepreneurial desire. After graduating from Vanderbilt University, Christopher owned a couple of small businesses that were successful. Christopher then went to law school and
got his law degree. After working as a retail stock trader, and then on Wall Street as an institutional trader, Christopher went to work for an aviation law firm. During law school, Christopher also worked for the FAA. So, Christopher has a ton of experience and education. During Christopher’s stint at the law firm, Christopher got to fly the right seat in a King Air C90B for a flight around southern California.

Christopher has three patents pending on his version of Cleco pliers. His design was so successful that Christopher partnered up with Aircraft Spruce to sell his pliers. Christopher estimates that between 5,000 and 10,000 have been sold.

From the first day that NorCal Flight Center opened, it has been successful. When asked why he started a flight school, Christopher replied that this has always been a dream of his. He loves the flying environment and the warm fuzzy feeling that comes from being around the school. Christopher says “everyone is in a good mood when they’re around the school.” He now has four airplanes for rent or for use in instruction, and has expanded NorCal Flight Center into a thriving parts and maintenance business also. Starting as a dealer for Aircraft Spruce, Christopher now has wholesale relationships with 55 distributors. Christopher’s desire is to compete effectively with the internet. From my personal experience, he does this very effectively. Christopher generally does not add any shipping charges to retail prices on items he can get. In addition to aircraft rental, parts and service sales, Christopher now has FAA testing capability at the facility.

Christopher is a busy guy as a husband and a parent to two young children. But, in his spare time, Christopher is also building a Panther. The Panther is a single seat aerobatic airplane similar to the RV3. Christopher has about 400 hours in the airplane and estimates that another 400 will complete it. So, stop by NorCal Flight Center and say hello to Christopher. You can contribute to the warm, friendly environment.

Christopher Braun’s Panther under construction. The kit is available from Sport Performance Aviation. More details on the airplane. Photo by Christopher Braun.