When Brian Helberg was 12 years old, his father performed an airport resurfacing job. Helberg joined him.

Spending the summer at the airport profoundly affected Helberg, and he was transfixed by the world of aviation and the idea of controlling an airplane.

His fascination led him to become the first pilot in his family by attending the University’s Aviation Studies program.

“My family thinks it’s neat that I’m doing what I love to do and something that not a lot of people experience,” Helberg said. “Sometimes they give me hard time about being ‘a glorified bus driver,’ all in good fun, of course.”

Now, Helberg is a flight instructor in the same program, which he has been doing since fall 2008, almost an entire year before he received his undergraduate degree in summer 2009.

Helberg did not plan on becoming an instructor until halfway through his flight education. He then decided it would be a good way to build flight time and experience as he waited for a good time to enter the flight industry.

His decision to stay at the University to teach was also the same reason he attended as a student.

“It was just a really good program, a good fleet of airplanes,” he said. “[It’s] a tight-knit community where everybody knows everyone and everybody enjoys being together. We’re always laughing, we’re always having a good time.”

He is in good company, because all of the flight instructors are University graduates. Helberg said most universities hire people this way because the instructors are familiar with the particular methods and policies of the program. The length of time with the program largely depends on how well the industry is doing.

But familiarity with the program doesn’t make instructing easier. Helberg said he had to complete at least an extra semester’s worth of work before graduation. This included two written tests and a four-hour oral examination with a Federal Aviation Administration examiner, topped off with a two-hour flight test.

In spite of the technical pressure, Helberg’s biggest worry about teaching was relating to his students and getting his points across. Students in the program, however, have given him positive feedback for his direct, but fun-loving attitude.

“He’s not going to sugarcoat it,” said junior Ryan Hueter. “He’s very straightforward and very matter-of-fact about the issue. He’s not going to make you feel good about yourself if you messed up.”

Senior Gary Huntz agrees and said this also helps build self-esteem by making sure to point out the good points about students’ flights as well, even if a student may disagree.

Helberg thinks he has a good relationship with his students and maintains a sense of humor, but stresses the importance of being direct, because they need to know their strengths and weaknesses for safety purposes.

“We can joke around and have fun when we are on the ground, but when we are in the airplane, it’s all business,” Helberg said.

Relating to the students is important because his sessions are all one-on-one in the airplane or in his office, though he can occasionally squeeze two or three into his office.

Depending on the weather, Helberg gets to fly several times a day, which he values as “an experience not many people get to have.” Recreationally, flying is expensive, so most of his flight experience comes in training others or building his own hours.

Though it may only be available largely for work purposes, flight is something that continues to inspire passion in Helberg and his fellow pilots.

“There’s no accident that made you be 10,000 feet in the air,” Hueter said. “You are doing this because you have the ability, the knowledge and the skills to get up there and get yourself back on the ground safely.”

Helberg stresses this sense of adventure as crucial to the job, especially in a tough and competitive airline industry. Right now, flight instructing is at the top of Helberg’s priorities, but later he plans to get his master’s degree in business, which would help him succeed in the corporate world of the aviation industry.

“Usually when you’re starting off, you’re kind of afraid of going to a bigger airport or going further away, but you have to get outside of your comfort zone, out of your normal bubble,” he said. “Don’t be afraid to adventure out to the next big thing.”