“Superman” came to mind when Her Campus had the opportunity to interview sophomore Jacob Havens. The entrepreneurship major from Findlay, OH can dance, sing and fly … planes, that is. With a passion for aviation, Havens has put his heart and soul into creating the Miami University Flying Club. Whether he’s on the dance floor, in the air, or coordinating social events for Alpha Sigma Phi, Jacob has caught the eye of Her Campus.
Her Campus: How did you become interested in flying/planes in general? Jacob Havens: “I’ve always been interested in it. When I was growing up, I was fortunate enough to attend space camp in Alabama for four summers. That really sparked my interest in becoming a pilot, and actually becoming an astronaut. I know that’s every kids’ dream, but I was really into it and I still am if it ever comes around. After that, on my 15th birthday, one of my friends at home, and by friend, I mean he’s 65 years old, took me flying in his airplane and I got hooked immediately after that.
HC: How long did it take you to become a licensed pilot? JH: In order to get your pilots license, you have to be 17. So on my 16th birthday, I wanted to start flight training and my dad said that if I can go a year of driving without causing an accident or getting a ticket, then he would let me start flying on my 17th birthday, but I had to pay for it also. I started saving up and I earned the majority of the money by being a lifeguard. After three years of saving and a year of waiting, I started flight training to earn my private pilot license and I finished it six months later. Then it took me two and a half years to become a commercial pilot, which means you can be paid to fly, while a private license is basically all recreational and it is all on your own. This means that no one can compensate you for flying unless they split the cost. Here’s a quick side note: Next semester I will have a job as a skydiving pilot at one of the drop zones in town here, so I will do that on the weekends. Also, I will be a flight instructor after this winter and so over the summer I will be a flight instructor if no other plans come into play.
HC: Was it simple to start a club at Miami or did you have to jump through hoops?JH: To be honest, it was really difficult. My whole freshman year I went through a phase of getting rejected by the school’s risk manager and I was actually planning on transferring out of Miami to go to an aviation school. So, I e-mailed President Hodge and said, “Hey, I want to start this flying club and I have been shot down all of these times. Is there anything you can do to help me?” He immediately contacted the school’s lawyer, who read through all the bi-laws saying that Miami is not allowed to tell a student organization that they cannot be formed based off of risk alone. And so five hours later the club was formed.
HC: Did you have any help from your peers while trying to form the flying club or was it mainly you? JH: In the beginning it was mainly me. Now I have a treasurer and he helps me out. I have four advisors and I found them at the end of the summer.
HC: Where does the flying club meet? JH: Our club meets in Bachelor 131 at 6 p.m. every other Tuesday. Then when the students go out flying, we fly out of Miami University Airport, which is three miles west of Oxford. It is a very Casablanca-esc airport and was built in the 1930s.
HC: What kind of events, programs, fundraisers, etc. does the Miami University Flying Club do?JH: It’s the first year for it, so we do not really have anything set in stone yet. But, so far we just had a joint event with the Miami University Dropouts, which is the skydiving club, in addition to the ski club. We featured a Red Bull Media House film and they had some product giveaways for us. We grilled hot dogs and watched a film. Airplanes were flying in and it was a good time. Next semester, we’re going to be hosting a fly-in, that’s where parents or other pilots fly into Miami and they talk and meet with us. There will be giveaways and lots of Red Bull. As for events that you do while you’re in the club, on weekends we’ll do flying trips, where I will fly students or another student that is a pilot will fly members to different airports. This allows them to go out and meet other pilots.
HC: What is your goal for the Flying Club this year? JH: This year I want to build a good foundation for the club and basically get it established and known to the school. That way in the years to come it won’t be something that when I leave it’s over. Making the club established is a goal of mine, so when I do leave, it’ll stay behind. Also, I want to figure out all of the logistics and funding from the school. You could say I’m still learning.
HC: What do you hope to teach those students involved with Flying Club?JH: We do a safety seminar in every meeting that we have. Basically I just want to teach them the different opportunities in flying and how to fly, if they don’t already know. If students do know, I’m trying to give them an opportunity to build time and teach other students as well.
HC: On average, how much time do you put into flying club? JH: Getting it started, I spent hours upon hours during the week. Nowadays, it’s probably three or four hours a week. Over the summer, it was maybe 10 hours a week. This involved getting things figured out, such as the logistics getting solved. Later on, I thought of new ideas and in what direction can I take this.
HC: What is your favorite part about flying? JH: I have three main favorite parts about flying. Number one is when you get up in the sky and you get above the clouds. It is the most freeing and beautiful feeling while you’re up there — everything is below you and it is all castaway — it is just really cool. Also, my favorite part about actually flying is either acrobatics, which is training that I have, so I can go up and do flips and spins … or landing. I would say landing is the most challenging part of flying.
HC: When you were in training, was it ever nerve-racking to take off or land for the first time? JH: No, not at all. There’s never been a moment where I was scared to fly and when there is, that’s going to be an awful day. However, there have been moments when I was startled. On my first solo flight, I did a take off and landing just fine, then I lined up to do my second take off and a deer ran out and stood on the runway while I was taking off. So, I had to cut all the power and throw on the breaks all in a matter of three seconds, while trying to stop before this deer. It just stood there looking at me. Theres times during multi-engine training where we have to turn off the engine and fly around with just one engine. There are things that are nerve-racking and somewhat fun, but I’ve never been scared.
HC: Do you have to have 20/20 vision? JH: You have to have “corrected vision.” To be a private pilot, you can have corrected lenses, but for the military you have to have perfect vision. Fun fact, I have 20/15.
HC: People assume that flying is very pricey, would you say its relatively affordable for the average college student? JH: Yes, but it is not easily affordable to the average student. It is pricey. Flight training at Miami is going to run a student about $162 an hour. That is a good price, but it is definitely a pricey hobby. For the license itself, that will run about $8,000 from to start to finish.
HC: Is there a lot of emotional stress that goes into flying an airplane or is there more excitement and adrenaline? JH: There’s both. The emotional stress comes down to getting everything right. Flying is easy, but working the radio, navigating and looking out the windows for other airplanes, while flying all at the same time, gets extremely overwhelming. Now that I am an instrument pilot, I am trained to handle all this stress and fly without looking out of the windows.
HC: What kind of airplanes are you licensed to fly? JH: I am a commercial pilot for multi/single engine airplanes with my instrument, high performance and complex endorsements. The commercial pilot is my overall license with the other endorsements added to it. This allows more privileges to the pilot, instrument rating or a high performance rating, meaning the engine is over 200 horse-power.
HC: Are smaller planes more dangerous than large jets flown by companies such as Delta or Southwest? JH: Well, yes they are more dangerous, but if I lose power in one of the airplanes I know how to fly, it is a lot safer than losing engines in a jet. If I have an engine fire or something, I would have to get to the ground really quick. However, what a lot of people do not know is that flying is still safer than driving a car.
HC: Are you involved in any other organizations aside from flying club? If so, what? JH: I am in the Glee Club and I do a lot with the Swing Syndicate. Also, I am a member of the Ski and Snowboard Club. My favorite is probably dancing, and I TA ballroom and social dance classes.
HC: How do you keep a balance among your academics, extracurriculars and relaxing time?JH: I use Google Calendar and I think I’m pretty organized when it comes to that stuff. My key to success is being very organized.