Mike Jesch
Making good use of an airplane
“[It was a] rough ride, and she thought I’d never fly again,” he says. “But what she didn’t know was I really said ‘This is so cool! In 10 years, I’m going to be a pilot!’”
He didn’t have to wait 10 years. Jesch started flying at 16 and earned his certificate just after his seventeenth birthday. “My birthday was on a Sunday, and the DPE took Sundays and Mondays off, so Tuesday morning, there I was.”
Jesch has been a pilot for American Airlines since 1987 and is now a Boeing 787 captain primarily flying long-haul oceanic routes. Even with his airline job, that early enthusiasm hasn’t left him, and Jesch stays involved with general aviation throughout Southern California. “I do a little instructing, mostly IFR and proficiency work, but also navigator training, and aircraft type checkouts in Cessnas and Mooneys, mostly.”
He also regularly presents a variety of seminars in the area as a lead representative for the FAA Safety Team in the LGB district, and he’s been named the District Representative of the Year several times, and the Regional ROTY on one occasion. “I also do lots of talks for other organizations: NAFI, The Ninety-Nines, various EAA chapters, AOPA, US Pilots Association, and a bunch of local pilot groups, to name a few.” In addition, he finds time to do some public service flying for Angel Flight West and LightHawk. Among all that, he also partakes in just-for-fun flying, and he and his wife use their Cessna 182 for “little vacation getaways, most recently a trip to explore the Colorado Plateau.”
For aspiring aviators, Jesch says the most important traits are persistence and people skills. “I know that sometimes aviation can seem kind of off-putting and insular,” says Jesch. “Keep just hanging out at the airport and put yourself in a position that you’re available for opportunities when they arise. To a great degree, it’s about who you know, so the more people you meet, the more opportunities you’re likely to find. Take every opportunity to learn a new skill or get a new qualification. You never know when something you learn will be of use.” 
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