From Colombian Immigrant to Airline Captain: Why I Started Aviator NYC

The Gamble

I was born in Colombia and came to the United States as a teenager. My mother was an artist. My father sold medical equipment, running the Latin America region for a company in New York. Nobody in my family had any connection to aviation.

In high school, I was considering becoming an electrician or a plumber. Both were practical paths—good money, no college required. I wasn't ready for a four-year commitment to anything. Then my brother made his argument: flight training is expensive, and the opportunity might not come again. Trade school would always be there. This chance might not.

The vocational aviation course on Long Island was free. My thinking was simple: I'm probably going to fail because I'm not good at academics, but it's free, so I might as well try. At Republic Airport, I logged my first 10 flight hours. Something clicked. I found what I wanted to do with my life.

From the Galley to the Goal

After high school, I enlisted in the U.S. Navy. I still wasn't ready for college, and I didn't have a clear path. I ended up attached to a helicopter squadron on an aircraft carrier. During deployment, I worked in the aft galley—the back kitchen.

I chose that station strategically. If I worked the early portion and got everything done, I could take a nap and come back to finish. The other stations required working all night. Nobody else wanted to wash dishes. I did.

At 4 AM, while everyone around me was hustling, I'd see pilots walking through—calm, confident, seemingly at ease. That contrast stuck with me. I decided right there: I would become one of them. Not because it looked easy, but because I understood it wasn't. Their calm came from thousands of hours of training. I wanted that level of competence.

I knew the military pilot route was uncertain. You need a four-year degree before you start flying, then you go through a selection process. It could take much longer than the civilian path. So I made a decision: I would pursue civilian flight training while serving in the Navy, and I would pay for it myself.

Eight Hours for One

Here's what people don't see when they talk about how “expensive” flight training is.

At the flying club in Jacksonville, nobody wanted to wash the airplanes. So they made a deal: wash an airplane, get one flight hour in that airplane. The airplanes needed washing about every three months. As soon as I heard about this, I washed every airplane I could.

It wasn't just hosing them down. Each airplane took about eight hours of work. Washing the fuselage. Cleaning the oil from the belly. Waxing the wings. Eight hours of labor for one hour of flight time. That was the trade. I took it.

I trained at whatever airport was near my duty station. In Jacksonville, I earned my private pilot certificate and instrument rating. After getting my instrument rating, I joined Civil Air Patrol in Mississippi to build more hours. In Louisiana, I completed my commercial certificate, multi-engine rating, and became a flight instructor. Then I went to ATP for my instrument instructor and multi-engine instructor ratings.

By the time I received my honorable discharge in 2010—five years after enlisting—I was already a certified flight instructor. I had stacked up the ratings I needed to keep moving forward. Every certificate was paid for out of my own pocket.

The Long Road to the Airlines

After leaving the Navy, I did some independent instructing out of Jacksonville, then got a job at a European flight school in Melbourne, Florida. That's where I built my hours to 1,500—the minimum required for airline transport pilot privileges. The flight school eventually went out of business.

I moved to Farmingdale, New York, and flew Learjet 35s and 55s. I paid $10,000 for my type rating—going from a Piper Seminole to a Learjet PIC type rating. That's also when I earned my ATP certificate. I flew the Learjet for about 100 hours over six months.

In mid-2013, I got hired at a regional airline flying the Dash 8. Started as first officer, upgraded to captain about a year and a half later. Then the Embraer 145 as captain for about 500 hours. Then an Airbus at a major airline. Right before COVID, the opportunity came up to fly the Boeing 777, and I've been flying it since.

Today I have about 8,500 total flight hours. I fly 500 to 600 hours a year internationally. From my first flight lesson in 2004-2005 to my first airline job in 2013—that's about eight to nine years. Not a straight line. Not a fast track. But I got there.

Why I Started Aviator NYC

I'll be honest with you. It gets tiring when I meet people who say, “I wish I could become a pilot, but it's too expensive,” or “I quit flight training because it's too expensive.”

I get it. Flight training is expensive. But here's what I learned: the simulator is a great tool for learning repetitive procedures. You shouldn't go to a flight second-guessing what the procedure is. You should know your flows. You should have a clear understanding of what's going to happen before you get in the airplane.

The problem with the industry is simple. Flight instructors don't want to work in simulators because they don't build flight hours toward their own career progression. Flight schools need the airplane to fly to make money. So students end up paying aircraft rates to learn things they could master first in a simulator.

That's why I started Aviator NYC. We put FAA-certified simulator training at the center of everything we do. Get your written done early. Use the simulator to practice procedures until you know them cold. Then when you get in the airplane, you're building proficiency—not figuring out basics at aircraft rental rates.

Our instructors aren't career CFIs hoping to build hours. The majority are active airline pilots. They're not trying to get somewhere else—they're already there. They teach because they want to, not because they have to.

Who This Is For

I don't want to associate myself with people who hold back because of limitations. I want to empower those who are willing to take the risk, willing to find ways, willing to make it happen—not just find excuses.

If you think aviation is out of reach for people like you—first-generation immigrant, not great at academics, no connections in the industry—I'm proof that it's not. If you're a current student frustrated with slow progress and high costs, there's a better way. If you're a parent researching flight training for your kids, know that early training in a simulator builds habits and discipline that transfer to everything else they do.

For young people starting early, I'll say this: becoming an airline pilot is a worthy goal. But reach higher. Be excellent in whatever field you choose. Build something. Buy your own airplane someday. Start a business. Employ people. The discipline you learn in aviation applies to everything.

Outside of flying, I'm a father of two. Work trips often feel like mini-vacations—my family joins me on layovers when they can. It's a good life, but it took a long time to build.

I washed airplanes for eight hours to earn one hour of flight time. I trained at whatever airport was near my duty station. I paid for everything myself. The path wasn't straight, but I kept moving forward.

At Aviator NYC, we provide the tools, the instruction, and the community. But your effort determines your success. That's how it worked for me, and that's how it works for everyone who makes it in aviation.