I grew up in a small town near a flight school, Harv's Air. As a child, I would often see training aircraft flying around, and this made me interested in airplanes. Looking through my childhood photo album you'd even find pictures of me building planes out of Lego. My middle school science teacher taught a unit on aviation. After learning about lift, our class went on a field trip to the flight school for plane rides. That was my first experience in a small plane.
As I grew up, my interests changed, and I found myself in university getting bored with sitting in a classroom. I wanted to try something new, so I got my motorcycle license. Then I thought what license can I get next? So I decided to go for a discovery flight in 2014 at Harv's, and planned to get a recreational permit. But once I started the training, I enjoyed it so much I was determined to make a career out of it. As a pilot there's lots of information you need to know, such as: air law, weather, airplane systems, and emergency procedures. Learning to fly wasn't always easy, but getting through a challenge made it rewarding.
My first flying job was on floats after being an office personnel/dockhand for one summer. I flew a Cessna 185 and 206 on floats for a few seasons, and then got my MIFR and flew the Beech 99, King Air 100, 200, and 350. After flying King Airs for a number of years, I became a training Captain and learned a lot in that role. Last year, I got my first jet rating, and I am now flying a Cessna Citation CJ3+.
Being a pilot has been fun. You get to travel to new places, fly different airplanes and meet new people. There's always more things to learn which keeps it interesting. I've been flying for 9 years, and I'm still enjoying it. I'm excited to see what the future will bring, for me the sky is no longer the limit.
