The Desire to Fly
By Jesse Nau
Like a lot of kids, at an early age, I had an interest in flying. My earliest memory of wanting to fly goes back to grade school. I thought it would be cool to have the power to fly. Now that I am older, the desire to fly is still there. Especially when I hear stories of how my grandfather had an airplane many years ago, when my dad was little. He would take off from the family farm and his mom would wave a dish towel back and forth at him, as he flew by. I would have loved to have been able to fly with him. Unfortunately, he passed away a few years ago, before I was introduced to the aviation program at our local high school and the path that it would lead me on. I was disappointed to learn that we don’t have any pictures of him and his airplane, a 1946 Ercoupe 415-C. But we do still have some of his logbooks and items from when he learned to fly, himself. They were gifted to me after he passed away and my family learned of my desire to follow in his footsteps. It is very interesting looking back at what he had to learn from, compared to what we have available now.
whole family. While talking with the directors, I found out that I would be part of an elite group of kids, since there are not too many of these high school programs in the country. I didn’t really know what to expect and figured it would be mostly bookwork learning. But when they explained that we would actually be building an airplane in class, I was all in! So to be able to see how an airplane is built, much less be a part of it, was very interesting to me.
The first time I was introduced to the aviation program was during freshman orientation at Westosha Central High School. I was very interested in the program and asked for more information. However, already having commitments to several other sports that were taking up a good chunk of my time, I was not able to make the aviation program fit into my schedule. I was pretty disappointed, but I was raised to give 100% when you make a commitment to an activity. And I was just not able to do that, by adding aviation to my schedule, at the time.
Right now, the students in our program are building our third plane. All of us learn how to build and work on an airplane, from the ground up. I am currently in the group that is in charge of building the wings and can see all of our hard work transforming parts into what will eventually be an entire airplane. The plane is on schedule to be completed this Spring.
Fast forward to the end of freshman year. While shooting for the Central Falcons trap team, I had a conversation with the parent of one of my teammates. He was telling us stories of being in the Army and then joining the Air Force and how when he retired from the military, he became a commercial pilot. He mentioned there was going to be a need for new pilots, when the current ones retire, because there aren’t enough young pilots coming up behind them. He said if I really had the desire to fly, I should seriously consider becoming a pilot and look into the program again. It was at that time that I decided to back away from all sports, except trap shooting, and make the commitment to the aviation program. The start of my sophomore year, I filled out the required application and my parents and I had a meeting with the program directors. They filled us in on all of the requirements needed to be a part of the program. Both the student and parents are expected to participate in the program. So there has to be a commitment from the
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I come from a family where we work on our own cars, motorcycles and farm equipment. We were raised to understand the ins and outs of how machinery and vehicles work, before you operate them. Having a hand in building an airplane, gives you the inside knowledge of knowing how a machine will react in certain situations. It gives you that much more ability and understanding on how to control and manage the machine, in just about any situation. That is knowledge that most people will never have.
Then there is the opportunity that I have, to acquire a pilot’s license through this program. A few of us have just finished up the ground school classroom part of the program. That is teaching us the fundamentals of flying and getting us prepared to take our tests. It is very exciting to know that I will have my private pilot’s license requirements completed by the time I turn 17. I am very fortunate to be in a position where I am able to be a part of a program, with such dedicated teachers and flight instructors. If it weren’t for them, this program would not exist and my future in aviation might never have happened. Then there are the parents, who volunteer their time as well, to help us all get a little closer to achieving our dreams. This is an exceptional program and I wish more kids had the same opportunity that I do.
