Pilot’s Digest: Tell us a little about yourself.
Kyle Hoban: I was born and raised in a town just outside of Chicago, Illinois for 18 years of my life. I moved out to Dallas, Texas just after I graduated high school with my mom and dad.
PD: How did you get into flying?
KH: I was introduced to flying when I was 12 years old and got the opportunity to take a flight in a glider. My family and I were invited by our neighbors at the time to attend a pancake breakfast being hosted by the airfield in which they belonged to. After breakfast, I was presented with the opportunity to go up and experience what I had no idea would end up becoming my future. I owe it all to that flight and to my loving neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Poll.
PD: How did you go about choosing a flight school?
KH: The plan after high school was initially going to lead me to attend a four-year university in Denver, Colorado to receive a degree in aviation science. Life sometimes presents new opportunities and can change direction even at the very last minute, just as it did for me when I decided to take the leap with my parents to move out to Dallas. Once I was there and dug more into my options of becoming a pilot, the choice became clear. Attending a flight academy was the true heading I was born to follow.
PD: What made you choose American Flyers?
KH: American Flyers offered a commercial airline program that guaranteed success, assistance, and growth into becoming the best pilot any academy can offer.
PD: How much outside studying did you have to put in during your time with AF?
KH: This program was not a handout by any means. American Flyers became my “full-time job” seven days a week for the past eight months. You live, sleep, and breathe aviation every minute you have.
PD: What is your most memorable moment at American Flyers?
KH: My most memorable moment at American Flyers was easily my first solo which may potentially be the most memorable moment of my career to come.
PD: Looking back, what advice would you give someone interested in starting pilot training?
KH: To the future student pilots, take every mistake as a reason to become greater, every second of class as an opportunity to know more, and every minute of flight time as an experience most will never get to do. “Nothing ever worth doing ever came easy and the more righteously you fight, the more opposition you will face… Relish the opportunity to be an outsider, because it’s the outsiders that make a real and lasting difference.”
PD: What’s next for you?
KH: I’m continuing to leave my future open for whatever opportunities may present themselves. The dream has always been with an airline. But since starting my training, I’ve become inspired to apply my skills to help others in need, potentially
through aerial firefighting or medevac.