From High School Athlete to First Officer

COLTON’S FLIGHT PATH FROM LIFT TO REPUBLIC

By Megan Bouchie

Pilots come from many different backgrounds. Some dream of flying from childhood, while others know or look up to pilot friends and family. For Colton Tribby, even though his father was a Corporate Pilot Captain, he never saw himself flying as a career.

I GET TO DO WHAT I LOVE, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, PROVIDE A SERVICE TO GET PEOPLE FROM POINT A TO POINT B SAFELY.

WHAT IS LIFT ACADEMY?

Located in Indianapolis, Leadership In Flight Training (LIFT) Academy seeks to create top-tier, airline ready pilots. With a defined pathway to Republic Airways, students learn from Certificated Flight Instructors (CFIs) in state-of-the art Diamond aircraft, utilize Diamond flight simulators and remain on track with their training with the help of their assigned Student Advisor.

When students graduate and finish building the FAA required flight hours, they go on to become First Officers at Republic. Between graduating from LIFT and flying at Republic, students become a CFI at LIFT or fly for our partner, Cape Air.

HOW LIFT PREPARES STUDENTS

From day one at LIFT, Colton trained to become a pilot at Republic. “I had the opportunity tAued. “It gave me a step up because I knew what level of effort was required of me when I started training at Republic.”

Colton knows he made the right choice. LIFT helped him realize that aviation isn’t some far-off dream, but an attainable, affordable and extremely rewarding career. “At LIFT, I was able to progress through my training quickly,” Colton remembered. “I was scheduled multiple times a week to fly and do ground lessons and also offered the opportunity to pick up more flights with other instructors during open flying.”

WHAT MAKES A SUCCESSFUL PILOT?

When asked what he thought a LIFT student needs to do to succeed, Colton immediately thought of studying and dedication. “A lot of aviation requires studying outside the cockpit.” Both high school students thinking of aviation and career changers should be prepared for hard work in and out of the aircraft. Each student is assigned a Student Advisor who helps the student stay on track while managing their flight training schedule, study time and ground school.

Since LIFT is owned and operated by Republic and gives students a defined pathway to a career as a pilot there, the way LIFT CFIs assess each flight lesson is meant to reflect Republic’s. “The grading scale is similar,” Colton said, “so I always knew how well I performed a task because I was graded the same way as I was at LIFT.” LIFT’s program is built to help students succeed as a pilot at Republic.

WHAT’S LIFE LIKE AS A PILOT?

Colton found his dream career in aviation. “I think the thing I love most about flying is sort of simple,” he recalled. “I have the opportunity to pilot a jet-powered aircraft. Having passengers on board gives me a sense of purpose.” Colton’s sense of achievement as a pilot is obvious. “I get to do what I love, but at the same time, provide a service to get people from point A to point B safely.”

LIFT Academy recently announced a new campus in Myrtle Beach in addition to our existing campus at the Indianapolis International Airport. LIFT has rolling enrollment with classes starting each month. Does Colton’s aviation journey sound like something you could do? Learn more about LIFT Academy and what it takes to become a pilot at flywithlift.com.