By Tatianna Leija

When Ryan Dube was first given control of an airplane in junior high, he was instantly hooked on flying. Now a senior, Ryan has a pilots license and spends as much time as he can in the air.

“In eighth grade I took a discovery flight where the instructor lets you control the plane for a little while,” Ryan said. “I’ve had the bug ever since.”

Ryan started the long and rigorous course to earn his pilot’s license when he was 15 years old at Mesquite Aviation Metro. In three years, Ryan will join a long line of pilots in his family.

“My great-grandfather, my grandfather, and my dad are all pilots,” Ryan said.

Ryan’s great-grandfather, and grandfather, were both pilots in the U.S. Army serving in WWI and WWIIwhen there wasn’t an Air Force.

“My grandfather flew in WWI,” Paul Dube, Ryan’s father, said. “The airplane was a fairly new invention back then and there wasn’t even an Air Force. My father flew missions throughout WWII. My father’s only sibling was also a pilot in WWII. Having that many pilots in one family back then was rare. Having them all live was almost unheard of.”

Dube, however, doesn’t plan to fly planes for a living. For him, flying is just another hobby.

“It keeps me sane, but I don’t think I want to be known just for being a pilot,” Ryan said.

From the first moment Ryan showed an interest in flying, his father said he couldn’t wait for the day his son would earn his own license.

Flying was something Ryan’s dad loved as a child. Ryan’s grandfather transported bodies for the local morgue, and Paul would fly with him every once in a while when he was in second grade. Teachers at Paul’s school found his stories unbelievable and thought they had to be made up.

“My second grade teacher called my parents because she thought I was making up stories about flying in a small plane with a dead person wrapped in a sheet,” Paul said. “Ryan says he sometimes is met with similar disbelief when he tells people he was licensed to fly a plane before he was licensed to drive a car.

When Ryan began his training, his father found an opportunity to relive some of his old memories.

“It got me back into flying after 27 years,” Paul said. “Family and career had slowly whittled away at my time for flying. I missed it. So when Ryan was finally old enough to start taking lessons, I jumped at the opportunity to get back into it myself.“

Catherine Dube, Ryan’s mother, was a little less enthusiastic about her son “driving” in the clouds.

“He was smiling from ear-to-ear when he told me that his dad told him he could take flying lessons if he made straight A’s,” Catherine said. “My first reaction was to my husband when I said ‘Wait a minute, shouldn’t we have talked about this first?’”

While other mothers worried about their sons driving, Catherine worried about her son flying a plane.

“Of course, I had a lump in my throat,” Catherine said. “Statistically, flying is safer than driving, but it’s really hard not to think about big fiery crashes. I think it is just a mom thing.”

Catherine stood by Ryan and his decision and agreed with her husband that grades came first. She taught Ryan that education would give him room to dream big.

“Ryan may think flying is a bribe for him to get good grades, but it’s actually all part of my devious plan to mold him into a happy, healthy, successful adult,” Paul said. ”I’m thrilled that it’s working as an incentive, but in reality, it’s all part of building a good foundation.”

Just as watching his first steps as a toddler, Catherine anxiously watched as Ryan took his first three flights. She said the confidence that she saw in Ryan before taking off reassured her and allowed her to breathe a little easier.

“It was encouraging to see the preparation on the ground that the pilot goes through every time he flies,” Catherine said. “I was nervous, but there is definitely a confidence in every pilot I’ve ever met.”

Along with his parent’s support, Jeff Lawton, a Certified Flight Instructor for Mesquite Aviation, taught Ryan the intricacies that are involved in flying.

“A couple of my favorite things about Ryan are his aptitude for aviation and his determination,” Lawton said.

Lawton became a pilot at a very young age and went on to become a full-time instructor at the age of 19. Lawton says the work ethic Ryan possesses and the hours he puts into studying outside of his lessons makes him an exemplary student.

“Some students truly make you want to hit your head against the window, but that’s not the case with Ryan,” Lawton said. “His own determination to excel pushes him to study aviation at home so he is ready and prepared for the lesson when he arrives.”

After ground training, students learn maneuvers and procedures needed to be a safe and proficient pilot. These maneuvers include emergency procedures, recovery from stalls, steep turns, traffic pattern operations, cross country navigation and procedures, ground reference maneuvers, and specialty takeoffs and landings on short and unpaved runways.

“Ground school is first, and it’s the hardest part because you have to know all the rules and regulations,” Ryan said. “There is always a failure simulation during every flight – it’s a killer.”

During training, students are tested on many scenarios that could occur in flight. They go through dangerous and difficult scenarios to see how well they handle both themselves and the aircraft.

“Every move you make, every action you take, every decision you make will affect passengers that are relying on you to make the right call,” Lawton said. “That is a lot of responsibility to live with.”

Ryan said through learning to fly, he has learned responsibility, hard work and determination. Since his initial interest in flying, Ryan said he wouldn’t be completely happy without the refreshing 30 minutes 7,000 feet above the ground.

“Part of being successful is being responsible,” Ryan said. “And, it’s really cool.”