How I Became a Pilot: Part 1 Early Motivation, and Quitting too Easily
I started writing this post a few weeks ago with the intent of publishing it yesterday which was the anniversary of the day I got my private pilot certificate. But, before I knew it, what was intended to be one post turned into a ten page life story and I decided that I would be better off breaking it up.
It was fun looking back on where I have come from and where I will be going in the future. Speaking of the future I was hoping to have gotten some news last week to put a cherry on the top, but it hasn’t come yet, so maybe it will come by the time I get all of this published.
As I often do, much of my writing is really for me, but in this case I am hoping that my story will help other people to realize that it is never too late to follow your dreams. Even when you have given up on yourself, it is never too late to kick yourself in the butt and get back at it. I also want to emphasize the importance of other people in achieving your dreams, and maybe more importantly, looking for opportunities to help others in their journey. That is really what I would like to accomplish with this series of posts.
There are as many stories about becoming a pilot as there are pilots. Each person has their own unique angle and path that they took to get there. While there are many similarities, even those who followed a similar path, say USAF Pilot Training or an ATP school, will still have a unique story because that is simply the nature of the industry.
I have loved flying and airplanes for as long as I can remember. I will spare all of the dirty details since I write about it pretty regularly, and this is about becoming a pilot.
When I started college I had originally intended to become an engineer of some sort much like my oldest brother, and a few good friends that had followed that path. However, upon moving to California and discovering that there were actual aviation majors I knew that engineering was not going to be for me.
The first thing that pushed me back to aviation was working as a stock person at the Nordtroms in La Jolla (San Diego), CA. You may think that Nordstroms has nothing to do with flying, and you would be right. But, if you know anything about the area I am referring to, that store sits just off the departure end of the runway at MCAS Miramar.
Everyday as I would come to and from work I would see all of the different planes (mostly F/A-18s) coming and going, and I would just sit there and dream about flying in them. After months of this I finally kicked myself in the butt and decided that if I didn’t at least try then I would regret it for the rest of my life. So off to the recruiter’s office I went.
I think I surprised him a little because he started to try and sell me on the benefits of becoming a Marine, but I told him to stop selling and just tell me where to sign. To make a long story a little shorter, I was off to boot camp a month later and nine months after that I finished training as an aviation ordnance systems repair technician. I had no idea what that was when I joined, but it was the only job available in the air wing when I enlisted so there you go. My whole intent was to finish school as fast as I could and get my commission in the Marines and fly fighter jets.
After coming back from all of my training, I first enrolled in aviation courses at Palomar College in San Marcos California. Sadly, I just discovered that those classes no longer exist. After the main instructor, Jerry Houser, retired, enrollment was too low and they had to cut the classes. It’s really a shame because I learned a lot there. Jerry was one of those old school fliers that had a million different stories that you only acquire with decades of learning and living in the industry.
While the program at Palomar would never get you a bachelor’s, there was a companion program from Southern Illinois University, that still exists, that would allow you to do your general coursework at a junior college like Palomar. You could then finish your bachelor’s at their satellite campus in San Diego. It actually moved into the classroom at Palomar right before I started the program.
For someone that was working multiple jobs, drill weekends with the Marines, coaching high school sports, and trying to date girls as often as I could, this program was amazing. We met essentially every other weekend on Saturday and Sunday for 18 months and after that, you were finished. It was a fantastic program that catered to the military, but that benefited civilians who were in the classes as well.
As I was completing my general coursework, I started to work with an officer selection officer to get selected for OCS and a pilot slot in the Marines. After completing all of the necessary testing and physicals, I submitted my package and was blessed to be selected for a pilot slot with an OCS date in the summer of 2006. The way the program works I would attend OCS and then come back and finish my degree at which point I would receive my commission and attend pilot training.
As life is wont to do, my plans changed dramatically when I got sick two weeks before I was to leave for OCS. The doctors weren’t sure what exactly was wrong so out of an abundance of caution my orders were cancelled and I was told to reapply once my medical was cleared up, which it was, a few weeks after I was supposed to have left.
No worries, I would just finish school first and reapply later. But, on the day I was supposed to graduate OCS I met my now wife. I made it very clear from day one what my plans were, and she was always very supportive. Never once did she try and dissuade me from pursuing my dream. However, after some deep soul searching I decided that I would not reapply and that I would simply take my aviation management degree and find a different way to be involved in the industry.
Shortly thereafter we moved to Austin, TX and I got a job working at the FBO there which is still one of my favorite jobs I have ever had. Within that FBO there was a Cessna Flight School which always got my attention when I was at work. After much debate with my wife, because we were barely getting by, we decided to take on the debt and just go for it.
So I got my Sallie Mae loan and started working on becoming a pilot. 3 Instructors, 7.5 hours and $3,500 later I realized that this was not a sustainable model, especially with a new baby girl in the family. So as much as it pains me to think about it even now, I gave up on my dream.
I would love to say that this was the right thing to do, but part of me still thinks it wasn’t. I really think I just didn’t listen to the right people and had gone down the wrong path. I could have found a way, but instead I put it to the side for the time being. It happens to most people at some point in their lives, but it still hurts when you are the one doing it.
