My College Experiences as a Pilot and Musician

by Dylan Mardoian

My name is Dylan Mardoian and I am a sophomore at Western Michigan University and working on my Instrument rating and also actively participating in the band program at WMU.

Throughout my high school and college career, flying and music have always been my top two activities. During my high school years, I’ve actively participated in any band possible. Concert bands, jazz bands, marching bands, pep bands, you name it, I probably participated in it one way or another. For aviation, I was consistently looking at aviation programs around the country that interested me. I had my eyes glued to the music stand and to the sky.

Towards the end of my senior year, I decided to go to Western Michigan University. I couldn’t wait to participate in the Bronco Marching Band and fly the Cirrus SR20! A couple weeks before classes started, band camp started. Being a very extroverted individual, I couldn’t wait to meet others who had the same passion as I did. While meeting people, I met Nathan Nothelle, an FMA ambassador. I was aware of the Flying Musicians Association, but I did not know how to join. Nathan helped me through that process and I was able to gain a good amount of knowledge since joining. I’ve never experienced a college football game before coming to WMU. The first football game was exhilarating! Experiencing football games from the point of the band is always something I will always prefer to do. After the marching season was over, basketball band had begun. College basketball is high paced, and you must have a pep band that is very enthusiastic for the team. WMU’s pep band is no exception! With rowdy cheers to get the team going and cheers to discourage the opposing team, you can’t go wrong with joining that band.

In January of 2019, I decided to earn my Private Pilot License outside of WMU’s program at a local Part 61 school, Kal-Aero Flight Instruction based in KAZO. Flying mid-sixties Cessna 172’s is an experience like no other. Learning on a six-pack, Garmin 430 system is something I’m glad to experience. Michigan weather unfortunately prevented me from gaining hours in the winter months. By the time the summer rolled around, I was flying through my lessons. I soloed on International Learn How to Fly Day, which I think is unique. Networking is one of my strong attributes. During my solo cross-country flights, I decided to go to Benton Harbor, where Whirlpool’s flight department is based at. I talked to their pilots there for a bit and enjoyed every second of it. That is one of my highlights from my PPL training. Later in mid-august, I passed my checkride and was officially a licensed pilot. I was so glad of what I accomplished and couldn’t wait to start flight training at WMU.

While doing my flight training at Kal-Aero, I got offered a position at the WMU College of Aviation to be an Aviation Ambassador. This is a job where I would give airport tours to prospective families who were interested in WMU’s aviation program. I loved this job. One of the best I’ve had so far. Sharing my passion for aviation to other families is something I cherish!

Marching band season rolled around again and it was better than before! We had a new director who really cared about the Bronco Marching Band and wanted us to be a higher caliber band. We performed show pictures on the field that moved around and interacted with the audience! We later ended the season with a trip to the First Responders Bowl in Dallas, Texas. What a way to end the season!

During the middle of the marching season for 2019, I began flying at WMU. Since I obtained my PPL outside of WMU, I had to take a short, transition course of 10 lessons to get accustomed to the SR20. The SR20 is an amazing aircraft. I was shocked to see how much power that aircraft had! Once I got through those lessons, I was able to work on my instrument rating. The SR20 is a great aircraft for IMC conditions. I was amazed as to how much that aircraft can do.

Even though I’m halfway through my college career, once I get my 1000 hours, I have my eyes set on flying for a corporate flight department to start out and then later transition into Southwest Airlines.

Flying and music have always been a passion of mine since my childhood years. I didn’t think I’d still be playing my trumpet and fly into my college years. I am so glad I chose to keep going. I know it paid off and it will keep paying off later on in my life.