Who are you?
My name is Luke, and I have been interested in aviation since late middle school. But I never jumped on it until I graduated college with a bachelor’s in computer science. I was just starting my master’s program in electrical engineering when I realized that the lifestyle choice of sitting behind a desk for the rest of my life, doing math and whatnot, appalled me. I’m an outdoors person, and electrical/computer science is quite the opposite (and rather boring) compared to the choice I wanted to do. I don’t like the idea of just being in one place, doing the same stuff endlessly. It took many years for me to get the confidence I needed to fly. And now, I look back, and I can’t imagine what I would be doing without going to Inflight. I spend most of my free time now planning my next flight or pursuing fun hobbies like painting and building.
How Luke got into aviation
It took a while for me to build the guts to sign up for Inflight discovery flight. I always thought people who fly planes to be the most elite people on the planet, and how can I (a simple lad) be a part of such elite people. But after a few days of intensely thinking about it, I kind of just “winged it” out of my distaste for what would be my “behind the desk” future, and I did the discovery flight on the next available schedule . . . I loved it. The view, the intricate yet simple fun of it all, I found out that the discovery flight was called “discovery” for a perfect reason. And after the flight, I immediately signed up for future lessons at inflight.
Things Luke like about Inflight
As a fresh student, how everything was organized rather surprised me. Luke didn’t think that I would be taught how to understand exactly “how” to fly with each flight. When I first signed up, I thought it would be more of “fly, then go home and study.” But it wasn’t. They taught me everything I needed to know before and as I flew. I’m much more of a “hands-on” learner, so this method was beneficial for me. Also, everyone there is super lovely; like I can just stop in and say hello. Plus, after every lesson, they give me cookies! Which, honestly, makes every lesson (the best part of my day) even better.
Some of my favorite memories while learning to fly
People say that I am a timid person, and each flight pushes me to be a little more confident. My instructor saw the nervousness I had with the plane, and he helped me do some rather fun maneuvers to let me learn that flying isn’t something to be nervous about. Instead, something to have fun with and see the world from a different perspective. “A little caution never hurts though.” I find this to be a great memory. Because in my everyday life, I always thought of myself as a confident/outgoing person. But with this new perspective, I saw that I was quite shy and not as outgoing as I once thought. I believe now I can make decisions and walk around with a little more confidence. And maybe, fly a plane without stiff arms.
Advice for someone starting their training
Luke would suggest going at it with an empty mind. Some of what made me nervous was all the news stories I hear about plane crashes. I reckon to try and forget all the negatives or what you think you know about flying, and just start the lessons while building a new understanding of how the aviation world really is. A great new world of discovery and adventure, literally, one flight away.
