Juliana (Juli) Martinez, a Ray Aviation scholar, logged her first solo flight on July 25 at the Gillespie County Airport.

After being selected by the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA)  local Chapter 1088 as their 2023 Ray Aviation Scholar earlier this spring, she began training with flight instructor James Mickel.

Juli spent three intensive months of private pilot’s license training — which included learning flight planning, various maneuvers, weather briefings, emergency procedure...