Howdy! 17 year old living his dream...

iffyaviator said:
Hows it going guys? My name is Michael Iffland I am a junior in highschool and 17 years old.

I have always had the will to fly! Becoming a pilot has been my dream since I first started talking.

I have been working very hard to achieve my dream of becoming a pilot. But I don't want to be just any pilot I dream of heading to alaska to bush fly! That has been in my sights for years.

but Being 17 and in highschool it is very hard to afford flight training I have been working since my freshman year to try and get into flight lessons. My mother has never been supportive towards my dream. She never has showed any support towards what I want todo in life in general.

My father passed away when I was 9 and he was very supportive even when I was at a young age.

but I sat down with my school counsolor my freshman year and told her what i want to do. Then got a hold of the tech school in my area and told them I would like to start a program for kids to get there pilots liscense in Highschool and he really like my Idea.

I called flight schools up and told them what I wanted to do and no one was really interested. I had one flight school lined up to start taking flight lessons with them but all they wanted was my money witch wasn't much considering I flipped burgers at mcds!! ahahaha

One day I walked into are local mall and saw advertisment about this flight school and I took a flyer and looked at it and there phone number's last 4 digits where the same exact as mine!!!! 2590 ahahahah so I was like I have to call them. I called them up and it was this women very enthustiastic about the flight school. I told her I dream of going to alaska and flying and I love doing mechanical things and I told her about what I wanted to do with the tech center and have a program started for kids to learn how to fly,she loved my Ideas. She said we would love to have you work for us! I went and met with her and her husband who run the school. from that point on I am doing what I love!!

I learn how to fly in 1947 taylorcraft!!!! handprop it to start it and I also work with there mechanic as an apprentice. So I told Mr.champion at the tech center I found a flight school who wants todo it !!! and he came down and talked with them crossed the Ts and dotted the I's.

I work at the airport cleaning the planes, refueling them, and as an apprentice with the mechanic. I do this as part of my schooling after lunch I drive to the airport and work and learn and it counts as credits.

At some point I am going to meet with the school board of the tech center. They want to meet me! might get a state funded program started!

I also help do alot of promoting of the flight school too! i have tons of fun and have met alot of awesome people.

I hope by the end of my senior year to be working towards my commercial license. My flight instructor is also the husband of the woman who runs the flight school. there a great team and the always tie in the fact I want to fly in alaska my flight training is towards that too. I do alot of grass strip landings and crosswind. We always talk about if it where in alaska it would be like this!

It is amazing after years of hard work and wondering if I would ever be able to fly It all worked out in the end! I am 13 hours in my flight trianing and going to solo soon!
Click to expand...
Great story bud! Keep pluggin away at your dream and you'll get there
 
Hey fella's.
I have been flying with a friend who owns a Rans S-7. Having a good time in that little plane going to flyinns and recently finished a trip up to mackinac island.
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The trip was amazing went up sunday stayed in Cheboygan for the night and flew over to the island monday morning did a lot of biking on the trails had a good trip.
I also got to fly a waco biplane over the weekend had a blast in that and it was quite an experience!!! Landing it was quite a trick but I managed todo pretty well.
uploadfromtaptalk1381976024096.jpg



I was recently hired at Solo aviation in Ann Arbor as a linemen. It is going to open huge doors off opportunity for me!
Still doing janitor work and school is going great.
Sticking to my dreams and been seeking out alot of opportunity.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2
 
That's a hop, skip, and a jump away from where I live now.
I live in Westland next to Wayne and Canton Mi

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2
 
Oh kid. You're screwed. Pick up a crack habit. It'll probably be cheaper and better for you in the long run.

Or, keep on the path you're going on, and you should do pretty well for yourself. *thumb up*
 
Hey everyone It's been a while since I have said anything on this thread. I have made it to Alaska! I packed my bags back in april of 2014 and moved up to anchorage Alaska in May exactly on my 20th Birthday.
Three weeks of being up here I got an amazing job working as an a&p apprentice at a repair station. It's been an amazing adventure from my first solo in the 1947 Taylorcraft to where I am now. I haven't flown much since I been up here but have a few contacts now who I can fly with.
My priorities are to get this a&p under my belt and press on with flying.

All It takes is passion and effort and you can accomplish anything you want In life!!
 
iffyaviator said:
Hey everyone It's been a while since I have said anything on this thread. I have made it to Alaska! I packed my bags back in april of 2014 and moved up to anchorage Alaska in May exactly on my 20th Birthday.
Three weeks of being up here I got an amazing job working as an a&p apprentice at a repair station. It's been an amazing adventure from my first solo in the 1947 Taylorcraft to where I am now. I haven't flown much since I been up here but have a few contacts now who I can fly with.
My priorities are to get this a&p under my belt and press on with flying.

All It takes is passion and effort and you can accomplish anything you want In life!!
Click to expand...
Obtw I was at your shop in October.
 
Roger Roger said:
Obtw I was at your shop in October.
Click to expand...
Oh really..? That's cool small world man. Well I'm sure we will run into each other. October I did fly back home for a week though had had a friend pass away might be a slim chance I was actually at work when you where there.
 
iffyaviator said:
Hey everyone It's been a while since I have said anything on this thread. I have made it to Alaska! I packed my bags back in april of 2014 and moved up to anchorage Alaska in May exactly on my 20th Birthday.
Three weeks of being up here I got an amazing job working as an a&p apprentice at a repair station. It's been an amazing adventure from my first solo in the 1947 Taylorcraft to where I am now. I haven't flown much since I been up here but have a few contacts now who I can fly with.
My priorities are to get this a&p under my belt and press on with flying.

All It takes is passion and effort and you can accomplish anything you want In life!!
Click to expand...
What shop? Working on ratings still?
 
I work at Aerotwin Inc.
Currently I am not working on ratings :/. I do how ever plan on getting started on my insturment rating. I just haven't found a flight school up here yet I want to throw my money at. Any recommendations would be great. I have been getting to know pilots who I can fly with to get used to Alaska which is completely different then small flat farm Town michigan. Ahaha. I live 2 miles from the Birchwood airport it would be convenient to fly out of there.
I would say the hardest transition for me so far is getting to know people in the aviation community I spent so much time at the small flight school I worked at that I got to know a lot of guys on the field.

Now that I am settled down and have a place to live I can start focusing on flying more. A guy I work with and I are going to start flying together after winter when his 150 is no longer frozen to the ground.
 
The only flight school I am aware of at Merrill Field is Land and Sea. At Lake Hood there is Arctic Flyers, where I got my tailwheel endorsement. I really liked flying with Heide Ruess.
 
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iffyaviator said:
I work at Aerotwin Inc.
Currently I am not working on ratings :/. I do how ever plan on getting started on my insturment rating. I just haven't found a flight school up here yet I want to throw my money at. Any recommendations would be great. I have been getting to know pilots who I can fly with to get used to Alaska which is completely different then small flat farm Town michigan. Ahaha. I live 2 miles from the Birchwood airport it would be convenient to fly out of there.
I would say the hardest transition for me so far is getting to know people in the aviation community I spent so much time at the small flight school I worked at that I got to know a lot of guys on the field.

Now that I am settled down and have a place to live I can start focusing on flying more. A guy I work with and I are going to start flying together after winter when his 150 is no longer frozen to the ground.
Click to expand...
There's a flying club at Birchwood that has instructors. It's like 5k or something to buy in and then something like 60/hr wet for the citabria or 172.

Also, it's pretty warm this winter. I'd go get a bucket of hot glycol and get that 150 in the air.
 
Last edited:
iffyaviator said:
Hey everyone It's been a while since I have said anything on this thread. I have made it to Alaska! I packed my bags back in april of 2014 and moved up to anchorage Alaska in May exactly on my 20th Birthday.
Three weeks of being up here I got an amazing job working as an a&p apprentice at a repair station. It's been an amazing adventure from my first solo in the 1947 Taylorcraft to where I am now. I haven't flown much since I been up here but have a few contacts now who I can fly with.
My priorities are to get this a&p under my belt and press on with flying.

All It takes is passion and effort and you can accomplish anything you want In life!!
Click to expand...
Great update! We need to bottle this attitude. Always grateful/appreciative, full of piss and vinegar, enthusiastic, hard working, sets goals, meets goals, and positive. Glad to hear you are doing so well. Truthfully from you, I expected no less. Keep moving forward and enjoy yourself.
 
z987k said:
There's a flying club at Birchwood that has instructors. It's like 5k or something to buy in and then something like 60/hr wet for the citabria or 172.

Also, it's pretty warm this winter. I'd go get a bucket of hot glycol and get that 150 in the air.
Click to expand...

That's doesn't seem like a bad deal.

Yeah I would love to throw some Glycol over the tires and bring it In The hanger for a few hours. Then burn a hole in the sky. this summer I plan to get in some good flying Time in it.
 
A Life Aloft said:
Great update! We need to bottle this attitude. Always grateful/appreciative, full of piss and vinegar, enthusiastic, hard working, sets goals, meets goals, and positive. Glad to hear you are doing so well. Truthfully from you, I expected no less. Keep moving forward and enjoy yourself.
Click to expand...
Thanks man. It sure has Its challenges but that's what makes this adventure worth while.
 
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