By Joshua Homet
MUSIC & AVIATION:
a Perfect Harmony
In my parents’ recollection, my interest in airplanes was evident even before I could say the word. They would catch me looking up anytime a small aircraft buzzed overhead or when I caught a quick glimpse of an airliner cruising between the clouds. From the earliest grade school projects asking what you wanted to be when you grew up, I only ever had two answers—professional pilot or storm chaser. As one could imagine, my parents were only really keen on encouraging one of those aspirations. An early memory that really set the hook for me was when my family took a US Airways flight to an extended family event. This was in the pre-9/11 era when flight crews were much more accessible before and after flights. My dad had the forethought to introduce me to the captain as the flight was deplaning. Once I announced my interest in becoming a career pilot, the captain graciously showed me the cockpit and excitedly explained what my future could look like. Another passion of mine from an early age was music. My parents stressed the importance of participating in music throughout life to me and my two siblings. When the time came in fourth grade, I selected the alto sax. I played this for concert band and participated in the school’s chorale throughout my middle school years. Once in high school, I switched to playing tenor sax
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for concert, marching, and jazz band. In my senior year, I was honored to be selected as drum major in the marching band. On the vocal side, I was in chorale, competition choir, and a high school show choir that toured the region, performing over a hundred shows each year. Among my favorite musical endeavors, though, was my three years in a men’s a cappella group. In my senior year, we even got to perform on the grand staircase of the Pennsylvania State Capitol building. For more than a decade, I’ve been playing the Cajon, an acoustic and very portable drum box. As a sophomore in high school, I had the opportunity to begin my general aviation journey in the iconic Piper J-3 Cub at a nearby private grass strip. This solidified my career goals and made me serious about aviation. In the fall of 2004, I started my Bachelor’s degree at Western Michigan University. I was able to get my tailwheel endorsement back home, flying the Cub during breaks. By summer 2008, I had my degree, commercial single/multi, and my CFI/II. I even managed to get my single-engine sea rating before graduating. If you ever get the chance to fly on floats, be sure to take the opportunity. At this point, it was time to start building hours. I began with some independent flight instructing, discovery flights, and scenic flights. My first real break came in the form of an aerial survey job. On Halloween 2009, I traded my car keys for the keys to a C-172. It had no autopilot, poorly working