I think passengers have this mindset that all pilots should be about 50 years old, with a full head of gray hair (or not so full)… then they see me. “Yes I’m old enough to fly…” and “Yes my Mom knows where I’m at…” I’ve heard them all. It really is a dream come true to be a part of this profession at such a young age. But, by no means was it easy to get to where I am today.

Training was the best / hardest time of my life. Put it this way… I had no life. My days for 6 months consisted of flying, flying, and you guessed it, flying! From the time that I woke up, till the time I went to sleep… I was studying and training the entire day. After the completion of “flight school” I got hired to fly cargo around the islands of Hawaii. Here in the United States the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) mandates all pilots to have a minimum experience level before transporting passengers. For me that meant that I needed to accumulate 1,500 hours of total flight time. I gained so much useful knowledge and life lessons from flying out in Hawaii. Once I got all the required time I needed though, I was out! I applied for a regional carrier and went to work as a First Officer on a 76 passenger jet. Commuting and relocating to 5 different domiciles in 3 years was definitely eye opening for me. I learned quickly how nice it is to be based at home, or relatively close to home. For 2 years I was a First Officer, and then I upgraded to Captain on a different aircraft. At the time I was the youngest Captain at my company, and quite possibly the youngest in the industry. Close to a year later I had made the switch to my current airline… and I’m loving every second of it!

So long story short… yes, I am old enough to fly. And since you’ve read this far, I’m 24… and I can barely grow a mustache.