They say the sky's the limit to wherever life can take you and what you can accomplish in a lifetime. I've never understood that saying. To me the sky is not only my home, but a vast place full of incredible opportunities to take and help make the world a better place in the little ways I can contribute with the skills I'm developing. I will accomplish this by becoming a certified aircraft mechanic with a private pilot's license. When I say that last part, people often try to correct me and tell me I want to be an airline pilot instead, after all, that's where most of the general public's experience with aviation typically ends. However, if I became an airline pilot just like most people getting into this industry, who's going to change the oil and the tires on that Boeing 737? Who's going to repair the skin of the news helicopter that flew into hail or the Cessna a student pilot landed a little too hard? That'll be me and every Airframe and Powerplant certified aircraft mechanic out there keeping these birds flying of course! Currently I'm working to accomplish this an aviation maintenance student at Traviss Technical College and it's allowed me to explore my lifelong love of airplanes in ways I've always dreamed of but growing up as a poor kid from the hood, I could never afford to commit to my dreams the traditional ways. Fixing up old and beautiful flying machines has been a little niche interest of mine since I started building RC model airplanes and rockets at the age of 9. In high school that little spark of interest was allowed to ignite and grow as I'd spend my days after school volunteering with old WW2 and NASA mechanics in the EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) hangar at my local small airport. They taught me the old ways of maintaining and restoring historic and one of a kind Experimental aircraft. In doing so I gained an immense appreciation for these incredible machines that enabled us to take flight and soar like birds. These machines that in a lifetime had evolved from the fragile wood and linen Wright Flyer making short hops in Kitty Hawk NC to the Space Shuttles and the modern day airliners millions of people use every day. Through this school, I will perfect my skills as an aircraft mechanic to the high level of precision detail required to work on NASA air and space craft. I wish to be proficient enough to be able to work on any kind of aircraft so I may in turn use my skills on aircraft that help people like emergency relief aircraft, medic helicopters, and NOAA's hurricane research airplanes. If all certified aircraft mechanics went into the airlines, then there'll eventually be no one to keep those emergency aircraft flying as the current most experienced people working of those aircraft are steadily retiring and there's very few able to replace them. Which means over time, soon, many of those emergency aircraft may not be able to fly without proper maintenance. As an aircraft mechanic and private pilot, there will be days I'll be volunteering my services to nonprofit organizations and equipment to help marginalized, underprivileged people either escape their homes of persecution for safety and/or to go receive medical care they may not be able to get near home. In these days of legislation using the most vulnerable people as their political targets, volunteering services like this are crucial to giving aid to our friends and neighbors who need it most.

Have you ever felt the need for something so bad that without it in your life it feels like an entire pice of you is missing and no matter what you try to fill that void with, nothing can seem to replace it? That's how I feel needing aviation in my life. They say the sky's the limit, right? I never never truly understood that saying as the sky's always felt like home to me, and I always wondered why should I limit myself at home, why can't I do what I want at home? Luckily I never let others keep me grounded, my love of aviation keeps me striving for new heights that constantly makes me want to push my boundaries. In short, I want to make air and spacecraft fly. To make that happen I'm currently working on my aviation maintenance certifications at Traviss Technical College and my private pilot's license at my local small airport. I wish to take the experience I'm gaining from school and the small airplane I'm restoring at home and eventually perfect it to the skill level required by NASA, Boeing, The ULA, and Sonic Aircraft, to make their advanced machines fly. But most importantly, I wish to use my skills on aircraft that will help people, like NOAA's weather research aircraft and aircraft that fight fires, or aircraft that supply emergency aid. For as much as I love my field, I could never use my skills on an aircraft that could harm or cause misery to another person. Aviation has always been my escape and a source of hope and happiness for me, I will use my skills to do the same for others.

They say I'm an oddball for loving aviation as much as I do but having aviation in my life since I was a baby when a helicopter saved my life and then growing up living next door to and volunteering at one of the largest airshows in the US, Sun n Fun, it's safe to say I've been infected with the aviation bug. At this point I wouldn't know what to do with myself if I got stuck working in another industry as I'll always have the need to "go play with airplanes" as I like to call any work with airplanes, because working with airplanes brings me so much joy it never feels like work to me. Aviation's been my entire life since I took my 1st flight in an airplane at the age of 13 and I was at the yoke of one of Flight Safety's Cherokee's in Vero Beach FL. Since then I've attended the Central Florida Aerospace Academy as my high school where I spent my mornings studying aerospace and my afternoons hanging out in the restoration hangar learning all I could about maintaining and preserving antique and experimental aircraft with the old EAA volunteers. While there I got to work on some beautiful and unique aircraft such as the Lockheed XVF-1, a C-47/DC-3, a Grumman Goose, The Sunshine Clipper, a Boeing Stearman and a 727, as well as several other kinds of Experimentals. Those afternoons in the dusty old hangar taught me not only some valuable skills and life lessons, but they gave me a full appreciation for the early and experimental aircraft that opened the doors for so many other people like me with a love for aviation who went on to make incredible machines like the 747 and the Space Shuttles possible. Currently I'm working on my A&P at Traviss Technical College so I too may make these big beautiful birds fly. Additionally I've been steadily working on my Private Pilot Certificate at Bartow's historic flight school (known for training bomber and fighter pilots during WW2, as well as some astronauts) and I've been working on building an Experimental Cub as a little personal homework assignment for some more practical experience in the skills I'm learning in A&P school. Although most of my peers from high school have moved onto becoming airline pilots, I'm more than happy spending my days riveting away on an airplane. After all, if everyone who loves aircraft became airline pilots there'd be no one left to change the oil or install the fancy new Garmin. I will, however, stick to flying myself, friends, and family around in the little birds for fun. My love of aviation extends to all reaches of the field, but I'll always need a little altitude every now and then.