Simply being a passenger on a plane can be terrifying for many, but for senior Mason Teschler the complex skill of it is a way to express himself and escape. Teschler has dedicated hours to honing his flight skills.
Teschler’s passion for aviation first bloomed during sophomore year when taking a discovery flight in a small airport. It opened his eyes to the world of flight and resulted in him pursuing a career in the field.
“At first I was really scared because the only planes I had ever been in were large commercial airliners,” Teschler said. “After the flight ended that day, I made a goal for myself to achieve my long term career goal of being a commercial airline pilot for a major airline in the US and I have been working towards that since then.”
During his junior year, Teschler began taking flying lessons in preparation for the Private Pilots License (PPL).
“I am hoping to earn my PPL certificate before I graduate next year.” Teschler said. “The flying lessons were out of North Las Vegas Airport and I have been doing it ever since. My first 6-7 lessons I would always feel sick mid way through the flight and would need to return early unfortunately. Now, I have gotten used to turbulence and flying in a small plane, it is not a problem for me anymore.”
However, with finding his footing in the world of aviation came significant hurdles.
“There were a lot of challenges I faced while working towards my license,” Teschler said. “Balancing school, work, and flying all together has been the utmost hardest part. Getting things in on time and having the time to study is a lot, but lately managing these things have been doing well so far.”
While facing these challenges, Teschler received support from family and friends. He believes this was a key factor that contributed to his personal growth.
“My family, my grandparents, and my little sister have been my biggest supporters with this decision,” Teschler said. “There had been times where I was not doing anything right and kept messing up and getting down on myself for it. When I talked to my parents about it though, they provided positive reinforcement and he
Despite the obstacles, Teschler was able to overcome them and make significant accomplishments
“I’ve done solo flights before, but there were two in particular I’m most proud of,” Teschler said. “My first solo flight at Jean Airport and my first solo cross country flight to Mesquite and back. I could say those were my biggest accomplishments because they were my first solo flights, but the feeling after I was done made it my biggest accomplishments so far.”
Being a pilot student for two years gave Teschler the time to understand and know why flying is important to him.
“Since that one flight through the large commercial airlines, I guess something in me wanted to do it for a lifetime and achieve what I want. I’ve always been interested in aviation and achieving my goal is important to me,” Teschler said. “It’s something that makes me happy whenever I am above Vegas or flying under clouds. I have also realized I can not think of anything else I would rather do since I will go somewhere new everyday and have the best office space in the world as well as hopefully see foreign countries instead of only flying in the US.”
