By Joe Dexter
jdexter@rockinghamnow.com Sep 4, 2019
ROCKINGHAM COUNTY — McMichael High School Senior Cade Isley is reaching new heights by setting sky-high standards.
The 17-year-old was one of just 250 cadets nationwide selected to take part in the 2019 Air Force JROTC Flight Academy earlier this summer.
And while being part of the eight-week summer aviation training program and landing a $20,000 Chief of Staff Private Pilot Scholarship is quite an accomplishment in itself — Isley turned it up a “knot.”
While at Purdue University, one of the training program’s 11 partnering colleges nationwide, the avid Air Force JROTC member landed his private pilot’s certification in just 29 days — becoming the first in his class to obtain the credentials.
Isley said that it was never his goal to lead the pack until a few days prior to his checkride — the Federal Aviation Administration flight exam required for certification.
Going into the academy, he had no idea he would do so well or that his instructors would push him with such focus toward success.
On test day, Isley sat in the cockpit — just moments after cutting the West Lafeyette, Indiana, sky. He soaked in the altitude of his accomplishment as his instructor exited the plane after handing him his pilot’s certificate.
“I’ve never cried tears of joy before,” said Isley, whose only flight experience prior to this summer was riding shotgun in a single engine Cessna with his father, also a licensed pilot.
“It was just an amazing achievement, just the feeling of doing that in such a short time. I called my parents — it was overwhelming. I had no idea I would get to that point or have the ability to get there, but the more I did it, the more I felt confident.”
Taking Flight
Isley’s quest for flight began late last year with a question from Maj. Andrew Mercer, who leads the McMichael High School Air Force JROTC program.
The instructor asked Isley if he wanted to be a pilot.
“I said, ‘Well yeah, of course, what do you mean?’ ” Isley said, noting he thought Mercer was initially asking a general life question about future aspirations.
In actuality, Mercer was pointing Isley in the direction of the scholarship program launched in the summer of 2018.
“Maj. Mercer told me about the scholarship and gave me all the resources I needed to apply and I just dug into it,” said Isley, who studied rigorously by watching videos and reading textbooks related to the program, before completing the application process last December.
The academy, created to encourage high school youth toward aviation careers, was a collaborative initiative between the Air Force and aerospace industry — in an effort to address a national pilot shortage, according to the Air University Air Force website.
Aerospace leader Boeing anticipates a need for 6,000 civilian pilots a year over the next 20 years, while Air Force officials anticipate a they’ll need an additional 2,000 pilots annually.
In March, while running errands in Greensboro, Isley was notified by his instructor that he had been accepted to the program.
From there, the soon-to-be cadet dove nose first into preparations and prerequisites for the summer academy that aims to grow to 2,000 cadets per year.
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