The Owensboro-Daviess County Regional Airport’s pilot training program has graduated its first student.
The program is a collaborative effort between Cape Air, the airport and MidAmerica.
On Feb. 15, Samuel Dukes of Central City finished the 750 hours required for him to qualify for Cape Air’s first officer training at their headquarters in Hyannis, Massachusetts.
“I had some interviews with Cape Air and got the official offer letter and will start on March 9,” he said. “One of the previous first officers said it took two months. It is the pace you can manage.”
Dukes will spend that time in Hyannis and then will have the opportunity to bid on which hub that he wants to work out of. His goal is the Midwest.
“They said that there were no specific percentages but most first officers get in the region they want,” he said. “Hopefully I have a good shot at Marion, Illinois; Kirksville, Missouri; Owensboro or Quincy, Illinois. I will be bidding on a three-month schedule and have to complete 750 hours as a first officer.”
Upon completing his total 1,500 hours, Dukes will become a pilot where he will jump from $30,000 as a first officer to roughly $100,000, said Cameron Howard, program administrator.
For Dukes, the program came at the right time, he said.
“I am more excited now because it is getting real,” he said. “Now it is the beginning of my career and the prospect of a paycheck and hitting my hours to get the loan refunded. I have no regrets. It is a program that was there when I needed it and it got me in the air, so it was a big blessing. If someone was in my situation, I would recommend it. I happened to be able to get the funds and have experience and wanted to get in the air as soon as possible and it was the best option for me. It is definitely not a bad move; I flew a lot in a year and that was my goal.”
The program started in January 2019 and has grown steadily ever since, said Howard.
“Starting out we wanted to do it small,” he said. “We didn’t want a bunch off the bat because it’s a new program that we started from scratch. Cape Air has been a great supporter with the donation of their plane and continued support. We are increasing our outreach and getting the word out, especially as interest grows. Ideally, we will have 10 students enrolled at any given time.”
While the program has been a “labor of love” for airport staff, the fact that students, upon graduating, can earn upward of $100,000 as a pilot and receive loan forgiveness from Cape Air up to $72,000 against the program’s cost of $90,000 is exciting, Howard said.
“Whenever Sam joined it was a $72,000 line of credit through a student’s respective bank,” he said. “Cape Air is at the $72,000 reimbursement and a guaranteed job placement at the end of the 750-hour training. After that 1,500 hours, they are upgraded to captain with a sizable pay increase and then the reimbursement starts when you are a captain. It is a big pay jump from first officer to captain. We are extremely proud of Sam and we are extremely proud of the program. It has been a labor of love and a lot of time has been invested. We are proud to have our first graduate and excited to see where his career goes.”
Jacob Mulliken, 270-228-2837, [email protected]
Jacob Mulliken, 270-228-2837, [email protected]
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