For Toledo Public Schools senior Malachi Wattley, the sky is truly the limit as the 18-year-old obtained his pilot’s license this month.
The budding TPS Aerospace and Natural Science Academy of Toledo student is only at the starting line of what appears to be a promising career in aviation. Licensed to fly a small airplane, Mr. Wattley is working on his airframe and powerplant (A & P) license, which will allow him to perform maintenance on a variety of aircraft.
Mr. Wattley’s love for planes emerged after traveling to the island of St. Kitts when he was 7 years old.
“My first time on a plane was when my Mom took my family to the islands to visit our cousins in St. Kitts. When we arrived, they didn’t have gateways. It was literally stairwells. I was able to be close to all the airplanes both big and small and it just really stuck with me ever since,” Mr. Wattley said.
“After that, I was always telling my Mom that I wanted to be a pilot. Every time we flew, my Mom would buy me a little toy airplane,” he said.
The road to his pilot’s license has taken a lot of time and commitment as Mr. Wattley has completed 45 hours of flight training as well as a written exam and a test flight with an FAA examiner.
“It took me a year to complete because I was flying once a week for one hour. It all depends on motivation and how much money you have to complete the training,” Mr. Wattley said.
The training cost him nearly $10,000.
Richard Naves, TPS ANSAT Training Director, said the program provides high school students with a post-secondary education curriculum.
“The training is normally $50,000 in college and it’s free at TPS to any student. That’s a big deal because we’re providing what would normally be a post-secondary education program to high school students. The A & P is our core program on the aviation side of the academy,” Mr. Naves said.
The program takes students three years to complete.
Mr. Naves said he is proud of Mr. Wattley’s progress toward his aviation career.
“He’s gone above and beyond. The A & P itself takes 1,900 hours of instruction and we do that all here while the students are in high school. It’s a huge time commitment for Malachi to complete all of this. The students have to be committed. Malachi started in a class of 24 students and there’s nine left in his group,” he said.
Mr. Wattley said his long-term goal is to become a commercial pilot and to own his own airplane.
“I want to go to school at Jacksonville University. I applied for some scholarships to go there. It cost $75,000 a year to go there. If I don’t get the scholarships, I might not go. But they have one of the best flight programs in America. If I don’t go to Jacksonville, I’ll probably go to Kent State University,” he said.
As for his motivation to continue his pursuit, he said the joy of flying is indescribable.
“You feel free from everything that’s holding you down besides gravity. I love the view when I’m flying, everything looks better and more beautiful from up there,” Mr. Wattley said.
First Published February 22, 2021, 9:31 p.m.
