Omaha Burke High student becomes pilot at just 17 years old

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - As teenagers, many of us were likely still trying to figure out what it is we wanted to do with our lives and future careers.

But one Omaha student already has his future planned out.

At 17, most kids are busy perfecting their driving skills, but Burke High School senior Thomas Reid is busy perfecting his flying skills.

“I first started getting interested in aviation in middle school,” Reid tells 6 News. “Just from random YouTube videos, aircraft investigations, and general stuff.”

When it was time for high school, Reid says it was an easy choice.

“When Burke had an aviation program, it just kind of made sense,” he adds.

Burke’s Air and Space Academy is in partnership with UNO’s Aviation Institute, allowing interested students to dual-enroll, earning some college credits.

Patrick Ryan is Burke’s instructor, and he’s also a certified flight instructor.

“When I can talk to a student when they first come in, or their parents, and say ‘when your son or daughter comes into this program and successfully completes, it the potential for them to go to an airline job or the flying of their choice is a reality,’” Ryan says.

Students like Thomas Reid gain hands-on experience in the program and learn to fly with the school’s flight simulator.

“It was just like addicting,” says Reid about his first time in the simulator. “I just kept wanting to come back and do more, like I’d always try to get my work done early like ‘can I go fly the simulator?’ ‘Mrs. Rosenberg, let me go fly the simulator!”

The simulator, which is the same one used by UNO aviation students, can also be used to log a few hours for students seeking to earn their private pilot’s license.

Reid’s flight instructor, Scott Pridie with Oracle Aviation in Millard, says Burke’s program played a major role when it was time for him to take to the skies.

“He was already well on his way, so it made life easier for me because he already understood the basic concepts, good technique, and was willing to invest the time he needed to.”

“If I had a lesson where we’re doing maneuvers and something was confusing, I could come in [the simulator] at class and practice it here before my next flight lesson,” Reid says.

Reid’s practice, studying, and more than 55 flight hours paid off.

In October, he passed his test, getting his private pilot license at just 17 years old.

He’s one of just two students in the history of the OPS air and space program to finish it before high school graduation.

“When he said like ‘you passed your test’ I was like ‘oh yay,’ but it didn’t really hit until I had a real passenger in the seat there that doesn’t know anything about aviation,” Reid adds.

His first passenger after passing was his dad.

“Just to be able to take him up after he supported me through the whole way, to finally get to take him up was really cool.”

After graduation, Reid will likely head to UNO’s Aviation Institute with a handful of credits already done.

After college graduation, his plan is to become a flight instructor until he has enough flight hours to be hired by a regional airline.

A few years after that, Thomas Reid might just be your pilot on a major airline.