For the kid at the fence

You are closer to this than you think. I know because I was you. My father worked airport operations at Nashville, and I spent my pre-teen years around the gates getting handed wings and snacks by crews who knew my name. I loved those T-tail jets. And I still had no idea how a person becomes a pilot. Nobody told me. So let me tell you.

There are so many ways to enter aviation. Maybe you want to be a pilot, or a flight attendant. Maybe you want to fix the planes and become an A&P. Maybe you want to build the planes of the future. No matter what, aviation is wide open. There is a whole world called general aviation — small airplanes at small airports — and it is the front door almost nobody mentions. Find the small local airports and you will find people of all kinds that will teach you how to make your aviation dreams a reality.

There are things called discovery flights. At the general aviation airports you’re bound to find a flight school that will take you up for an hour with an instructor, and you can fly the airplane. That is where it starts. Flight schools are real places, usually at the small airport in your town, and walking in and asking questions costs nothing.

The path itself no longer has to be just a dream or even a mystery. All you need is that one person to tell you it’s possible and show you the first step. You can solo at 16 and hold a Private certificate at 17.

Get a job at the airport. Any job, and network. Or if your path is college, still network. If you’re a career changer, network. Talk to people in aviation or that have been connected to it and get started. I started as a janitor at 18 and it carried me to an airline ticket counter in Chicago. The industry hires from the fence line, and being around airplanes every day teaches you things no classroom does.

It costs real money. I will not pretend otherwise. But there are scholarships, nonprofits, and cheaper routes than the one I took, and the money question gets easier once you are inside the fence meeting people.

Two things to carry with you. Airspeed is life. And learn from the mistakes of others, because you won’t live long enough to make them all yourself.

Nobody hands you a roadmap. Consider this yours. I didn’t touch the controls of an airplane until I was 37. You have a head start on me. Use it.