Due to the fact that senior Greg Felock’s grandpa and dad both have a pilot license, it comes as no surprise that Greg wanted to follow in their footsteps.

“I grew up around airplanes since my dad has always been a pilot and its been something I’ve always wanted to do,” Greg said. “And now since I’m old enough and have enough time, I’m just gonna go for it.”

Greg’s primary inspiration to get his pilot license has come from his dad, Joe Felock, as he is a test pilot of F-15’s and F-18’s for Boeing. Whenever a new plane comes off the assembly line or a new part is put on a plane, he is the person that takes the plane and flies it to make sure that it is safe and able to be sold.

“Picture a roller coaster but you get to steer it,” Joe said. “It’s like a combination of a roller coaster and a dragster. It is something different everyday. It sounds really cool, but its just like every other job and gets old after a while.”

To Greg, his view of his dad’s job is slightly different.

“It’s been really cool because it’s not a boring job and everyone wants to know about it,” Greg said. “It’s giving me ideas of things that I would like to do in my life.”

The road to get the pilot license is a long process. The first part of the process consists of learning ground school or “learn the basics of everything.”
Once that is accomplished, he will get to fly with an instructor who will take him through every flying situation possible. Finally, he will get the plane to himself where he will once again have to encounter every situation until he has acquired enough hours and is comfortable enough flying the plane. In all, it will take him the entire summer and cost between $5,000 and $6,000.

“Greg is a really strong willed kid, and because he is strong willed he will persevere until he gets the classes accomplished,”

Greg’s mom Jamie said. “I am not too happy about the fact but he is very academically inclined. He does well in school, he studies hard and works hard, and I know he will do the same with this pilot license. So I know that he will become a safe pilot.”

As Greg is getting ready to make the next step in his life and pursue his education at Southeast Missouri State University for Pre-Med, he is looking at the pilot license as an opportunity to get closer with his dad.

“It will be something really cool that we will both be able to share,” Greg said. “It will just be a good way for us to bond.”