You won’t be hard pressed to find a young kid who says they want to be a pilot when they grow up in the same way it’s not hard to find a kid who says they want to be a firefighter, an actor, an artist, a doctor, and so on. Children can dream big all on their own, but without the right guidance, support, and resources, those dreams may just seem too big and never be realized.
This could have been the story of Dusty Hanks, EAA 1140580, who is now a first officer for Delta Air Lines, flying Boeing 737-800/900s. Growing up, his grandfather enjoyed going to fly-ins together with Dusty, but for a while Dusty thought being an airline pilot was too big of a dream for a kid raised in Alabama by two schoolteachers.
“I always tell people, you can look at what two teachers in Alabama make, and there’s not really a disposable income to put money towards flying. And the opportunities, especially growing up in a small-town area, there’s not really a lot of them,” Dusty said. “People have blinders on of what their potential can be because they do what they see, they do what is in the area, and unless there’s some other opportunity afforded to them, they don’t really recognize what their potential even could be.”
Planting the Seed
At the 2006 SERFI fly-in at KGZH in Evergreen, Alabama, 12-year-old Dusty was introduced to Peter Hunt, EAA 374645, a Young Eagles volunteer pilot with his then-recently completed homebuilt RV-6. “It’s hard to say no, if you have a passion for flying, to an opportunity to meet some young people and not only to fly Young Eagles, but to talk about a career in aviation,” Peter said.
Peter, a Marine Corps veteran, had dreamed of a career in aviation himself, but life and graduate school had other plans for him. He was happy to encourage Dusty and other young people to pursue what he hadn’t. Peter didn’t get back into aviation until his 40s when he visited SUN ‘n FUN and was inspired by all the homebuilt aircraft he saw there. At 60, he started building his RV-6 (which won reserve grand champion at SUN ‘n FUN), and one of the first fly-ins he flew it to was the 2006 SERFI fly-in.
Because the runway would be closing soon for a fly-by, Peter knew he wouldn’t have time to pick up a second Young Eagle after his flight with Dusty, so instead he decided to invest extra time into his flight with his clearly excited passenger. “He was absorbing so much of a really adult conversation about flying, and that was really exciting for me,” Peter said.
And this investment did not go unnoticed. “He took the better part of the day to spend time with me,” Dusty recalled. “I remember looking at the sectional chart and him asking where I live so he could fly us over my house. We were up for the better part of an hour, and it was just phenomenal as a kid. It just kind of plants the seed in your mind.”
Though the seed was planted, a seed still requires the right conditions to grow to its full potential.
A Budding Aviator
Dusty still struggled to picture himself in a career in the aviation field through high school, but nothing else ever felt quite right. Soon after graduating high school, Dusty was at a restaurant when he ran into a local pilot who offered to take him flying. Coincidentally, the pilot’s Piper Tri-Pacer was hangered at the same airport where Dusty had taken his Young Eagles flight years earlier. Finally, that planted seed was given more of what it needed to grow.
“I had worked through high school on my days off and after school to save money,” Dusty said. “And I went up, and I was like, ‘You know what? I have the money to do this.’ And five days later, I started my flight training in Monroe County.” Dusty started flight training on July 2 and completed his solo flight that same month on July 28.
Dusty started seeking more people in his local aviation community, surrounding himself with the support and guidance he needed to grow. “A lot of opportunities came from just seeing hangar doors open, going out to the FBO and speaking with local pilots. Opportunities to fly came from those relationships that were formed,” Dusty said.
“I got my rating on my own account, but it would not be right of me to say that I did it on my own. There’s been a whole entire community surrounding me. It takes a community to raise a kid. Well, that’s certainly how it works in aviation, and the people that see you strive to do well are going to invest in you and your opportunities,” Dusty said.
By 2013, Dusty became the proud owner of his own airplane. “It kind of all revolves back to Evergreen. At SERFI, in 2014… I was able to give Young Eagles rides in my Cherokee 140,” Dusty said. “I was able to give back in the same way… and I get to hopefully spark an interest within someone else.”
A Pilot in Full Bloom
Fast forward to 2019, Dusty was a first officer for PSA Airlines on an overnight layover in Alabama. He thought back to the pilot who planted that aviation seed 13 years earlier in Alabama, and decided to find out if Peter was still flying. “[My grandfather] always told me I need to write a thank-you letter, and I don’t think I ever got around to that. But I always remembered: Peter Hunt, Clearwater, Florida, with the RV-6.”
Through the Clearwater, Florida, EAA Chapter 282 website, Dusty found a photo of Peter and reached out to the chapter’s Young Eagles coordinator to get in touch, and within an hour the two were connected. Peter remembered the bright-eyed boy he’d flown immediately upon hearing that Dusty was looking for him. “I remember he sent me a picture of him in his uniform. I looked at that picture and said, ‘Wow, look at what this little kid did,’” Peter said.
COVID-19 and the busyness of life put a kink in their reunion for a few years, but that all changed on March 30, 2024.
With Peter in the same RV-6 he gave the Young Eagles ride in and Dusty in his H35 Bonanza, the two met up in North Carolina to spend the day together. “I just gave Dusty a really big hug after he got out of his airplane,” Peter said. “Just thinking about what he had accomplished and how nice it was, and how proud I was that he had taken hold of the passion and taken it all the way to being a pilot.”
“The whole objective of getting in touch with him was number one, being able to create that friendship,” Dusty said. “But also… I hope someone else will see this and they’ll reach out to the pilot who took them flying. That’s how things keep going, that’s the motivation that keeps people going.”
Dusty’s advice to young kids who are afraid they’re dreaming too big? “Don’t let anyone tell you you can’t do anything. Whatever you put your mind to, there’s somewhere going to be an opportunity along the way. It’s all about how you take that opportunity,” he said.
And it comes down to current pilots too, Dusty reminds us. “If you can see the commitment and drive in that person, it’s easy to say, ‘Here’s my phone number. I’m off on these days to have a cup of coffee; we’ll go flying or you can help me around the hangar.’ Just foster that person, and you foster the love of aviation within the person, and pay it forward from that point.”
Peter, who wishes he had the early support and guidance that Dusty did, says, “Start early. If you think you have a passion, if you’re a parent and your son or daughter seems to have an interest, make an effort to cultivate that interest.”
Both Dusty and Peter look forward to their continued friendship, keeping in touch, and flying together. Because of the investment from volunteer Young Eagles pilots like Peter, we will continue to see the aviation seed planted and come to full bloom for the next generation, just like it did for Dusty.
Think back to who planted your aviation seed, and those along the way that helped cultivate you into the aviator you are today. Do they know where you are now? Have you thanked them? It might just make their day!