Soaring
One of my life long passions has been flight. In 1984 while in high school, I earned my private pilots license. Following this I had a seventeen year lay off due to undergraduate college studies and four years of post graduate dental school. In 2000, I felt the desire to begin flying again and started soaring gliders where I had left off. One year later I purchased my sailplane, "Sierra Tango, aka Nina Sierra", named after my daughter, Nina Sierra who was born on May 7, 2001.
During the spring and summer months I fly my sailplane with a group of other pilots; our group is called the Crystal Squadron. The squadron was founded more than 30 years ago, although I have only been flying with them since 2002. The link above will allow you to share in where the squadron and I go from weekend to weekend.
The main philosophy of the squadron is to fly our gliders straight out from the Lancaster area on every Saturday, weather permitting, and go as far as the weather and our abilities will allow us.
On Sept. 2, 2006 Dr. Gonzalez flew six hundred miles for nine and a half hours landing forty miles north of the California/Oregon border. This flight could have earned him the "Barringer Trophy" for 2006.
The camaraderie and excitement of the squadron is wonderful. The flights allow us to see parts of our wonderful country that normally we would not visit.
My goal for the next few years is to make a flight up to Sun Valley, Idaho, which is about 720 miles and should earn me the Barrenger trophy. The Barrenger trophy is awarded each year to the soaring pilot who makes the longest flight of the season.
What do soaring and dentistry have in common?
I believe the same character traits which allow me to make a motorless plane travel hundreds of miles also help me to be a good dentist. It is my mental flexibility, imagination, determination and discipline that sets me apart.
Case in point, this article better explains my point.
Sculpting
Art over the years has allowed me to make unique creations while using my hands. Although I find much less time these days to do jewelry and sculpting of animal forms, I have continued the creative process by designing and building my home, kitchen and bathroom cabinets and a dining room table. In addition, continued landscaping of my property and the design of a water fountain round out my projects for the home.
From 1997 to 2003 I created a sculpting project from a solid piece of wood that took the form of a 13 foot wingspan sailplane. I then took this piece and developed fiberglass molds for every part so that I could make many copies of the same glider. This flying creation is constructed out of the most advanced composite materials used in the aerospace industry. This entire process involved a huge learning curve that I am still climbing. This has been a huge undertaking and has earned a lot of respect from anyone who knows the process.
People ask me where I find the time... I tell them, "I don't watch television."
What is next Dr. G.
As an avid soaring pilot, over the last few years I have been compiling digital video of most of my flights over the Sierra Nevada range, Nevada deserts and the beautiful landscapes of Utah while soaring with the Crystal Squadron. My next project is to create a video that will allow the viewer to experience what it is to soar over these great regions.
Dr. G in 2005 started the long process of building a four-seat power plane from an aircraft kit. The manufacturer of the kit is Van's Aircraft, the plane is called the RV-10. It is mind-boggling undertaking. | 
