From my earliest memory, I have always wanted to be a pilot. My mother says my first word was “airplane”. I studied and researched airplanes, how to learn to fly, and many other aviation topics. I lived and breathed aviation, for which my brothers and peers would tease me.
School teachers and school counselors, as well as friends and family actually laughed at me and my aspirations to be an airline pilot. One school counselor said, “Well don’t you think it would be more realistic for you to work at the bank down the road?” They were all the same. In every way, these “well meaning” people tried to demoralize me and take away my dream to be a pilot.
At age 15, I saw an ad in the newspaper for a major airline that was taking applications for pilots. I showed up and made it through the first round of interviews before they realized I was only 15 years old. They told me I definitely had promise, but I needed to finish school and learn to fly first.
Not one to be put off, I studied hard and finished school only to realize I was back at square one because I didn’t have the money for the flight training expenses. Stubbornly refusing to give up on my dream, I worked as a construction worker literally shoveling concrete for the next few years until I had saved enough for the flight training and several months of living expenses.
I was able to complete my Commercial Pilot Certificate as well as all of my instructor ratings over the next year. I worked as a flight instructor (some of the best technical flying of my life) to build hours. Then I was ready.
I landed my airline job and since I have been type rated in and Captain in heavy jets such as the Airbus A300; Boeing B-747-100; Boeing B747-400; and the McDonnell Douglas MD-11. I was also in my airline’s training department, and conducted ground school and simulator training for many of those aircraft as well.
Some of my family members and friends remind me of those days when they thought I couldn’t do it, and literally laughed at me for saying I would one day be an airline pilot. Now who’s laughing??