How I Went From WMFA to the Air Force Academy

Tyler Friend and the West Michigan Flight Academy Journey. June 2017

"7 years ago to the day I flew my very first airplane. I can remember it like yesterday"

Tyler Friend's last flight before Checkride (2017).

Through the past 7 years a lot has changed, I grew up and graduated. I soloed and now I have my private pilot’s license. And I watched my future bear down on me like a freight train. Tyler Friend and his first Airplane flight in 2000.

Now I have 11 days until I leave for the United States Air Force Academy. The West Michigan Flight Academy has changed my life in a way that can never be described. I owe everything I am today to the amazing people who make that program a reality.

I am forever grateful to the opportunities I have received. I would have never gone to Young Eagles camp. Never gone to Washington D. C. Never gone to Space Camp. Never met all the amazing people I have. And most of all, I would have never applied to the Air Force Academy.

With the simplest decision to pick a random summer program when I was 10 years old, I found my passion and transformed my life. So take every opportunity you can and make the most out of it, you never know where the next journey will lead you. ✈️✈️

-Tyler Friend