By MAGGIE MCMURRAY
Moapa Valley Progress
Two Moapa Valley High School seniors are already well on their way to the career of their dreams. Logan O’Toole and Isaah Fairchild recently completed the rigorous testing and training regimen required to obtain a private pilot’s license.
The license allows the use to pilot private aircraft by themselves or with passengers to wherever their heart leads them.
Getting this license requires intensive study, many hours of practice in the air with and without an instructor, several written tests, and a thorough examination by a designated FAA pilot examiner.
The boys were able to do most of their practice and studying locally thanks to the fact that their instructor was local pilot Chad Fairchild, Isaah’s father.
Fairchild is a commercial airline pilot for Southwest Airlines. But he also worked as a flight instructor in Utah before making the move to commercial planes and has kept his instructor certification active.
“I really enjoyed teaching these boys,” Fairchild said. “They were both pretty natural and I’m really proud of them. My job as a pilot is pretty much the same every day so I really loved being a flight instructor again and getting out and flying with these boys. It was really rewarding.”
Fairchild said that the road to a private pilot’s license is not easy. The boys had to pass written tests before they could even begin to fly solo and they had to have at least 40 hours of flight time before their final test, including 10 solo hours and at least 20 with an instructor. Both boys greatly exceeded that number, Fairchild said.
Fairchild added that he never felt nervous flying with the boys, though he was a little nervous, from a father’s point of view, watching them solo for the first time.
The boys took a slightly different path on their way to deciding to get their licenses. However, both intend to continue studying with the goal of eventually getting their commercial pilot’s license.
Isaah said that his dream began about a year ago when his dad bought a private airplane. Isaah went with him to pick it up in California and fly it home.
“When we went to pick up the plane, my dad started teaching me right away, even on the way home,” Isaah said. “Then I started studying, but I kind of dragged it out and took a lot of breaks for sports. So it was taking me a while.”
O’Toole has wanted to be a pilot for as long as he can remember. His dad also owns a private airplane and Logan has flown with him and dreamed of becoming a pilot since he was little. He remembers flying the plane with his dad at the age of 4 while perched on a phone book.
Logan joined Isaah at the end of October and that’s when both boys took off and really started training and studying.
“It was a lot better when Logan was doing it with me because he really pushed me and it was a lot more fun to study and even to fly together,” Isaah said.
One fond memory for both boys was when they were practicing solo flights. They would get up early and each of them would fly their own plane to Kanab. They would keep within radio distance of each other so they could talk along the way. They would land in Kanab and go out for breakfast and then they would fly back home.
“That was probably the thing I enjoyed the most,” Isaah said. “Plus, they have a great breakfast place in Kanab. I highly recommend it.”
Logan said that he enjoyed the whole thing as well, but that the hardest part of it all was definitely the studying. “There is so much to learn that you have to study for several hours every night,” he said. “But I love being able to fly by myself and being up in the sky. It’s something that I really love to do so it was all worth it.”
A pilot’s license can be prohibitively expensive to get. But the fact that they each had a plane available for them to use, along with a local instructor, cut the cost from over $10,000 to around $3,000; something both boys were grateful for.
In the end, Logan ended up with almost 60 hours of flying time and Isaah had a little over 100 hours before they took their final test.
Their licensing exam was done by a designated FAA pilot examiner who came down to St. George to test the boys separately. Both boys passed and are now licensed pilots.
Fairchild explained that this is a great career option for both boys. Tight now there is a pilot shortage, he explained.
Logan said that this is just a first step to reaching his ultimate goal. He explained that he has to get an instrument rating next, followed by a multi-engine rating and a commercial license. In the meantime, the boys need to also get a bachelor’s degree in the field of their choice.
Both boys intend to start studying right away with a goal of getting their instrument rating by the end of the year.
“This week or next week we’re planning on starting the work towards our instrument rating, which is the next step,” Isaah said. “One thing that’s for sure: there will be a lot more studying. There will also be a lot more flying as well, though, and that’s what makes it all worth it.”
