From Construction to Flight Deck: Nicolas Mendez’s Journey to Cape Air Pilot Through LIFT Academy
Celebrating more than 100 LIFT graduates in the Cape Air Program
LIFT Academy has a unique partnership with Cape Air, which allows qualified LIFT graduates to fly for Cape Air and then become a First Officer with Republic Airways. LIFT just reached a significant milestone, celebrating 100 graduates in the Cape Air program.
Nicolas Mendez and Adam Ahmed are the 99th and 100th LIFT Academy graduates joining the Cape Air program. Both graduates are now earning flight hours taking passengers to Cape Air destinations. Read about Adam’s journey in our previous blog post.
For Nick, the Cape Air career pathway was a key reason he decided to start his flight training journey with LIFT. The Cape Air program appealed to him as a way to quickly gain tangible, real-life experience outside of the training environment.
“For somebody like me with no flying experience, I didn’t know how to begin a career in aviation,” said Nick. “When I was a kid, my cousin had a Piper Cherokee, and he would take me flying with him. After graduating from college and spending time doing construction, I realized that I wanted to pursue a career that I was more passionate about. And that’s when I discovered LIFT and the Cape Air Pathway.”
Nick says that the well-defined structure of the LIFT training program from student to First Officer at Cape Air and then to a career with Republic Airways made him realize that his path to becoming a pilot was clear.
“I could actually see the end of the road and know what I had to do in order to be a pilot. I don’t think I would have gotten this far had it not been for the structure,” he said. “There’s no better feeling than hitting milestones and seeing your progress along the way.”
Nick completed his flight training with LIFT in Indianapolis and is now in Hyannis, Massachusetts completing the training required to fly aircraft for Cape Air. Instead of taking an alternative path to gain flight hours, such as becoming a Certificated Flight Instructor, Nick was eager to apply his training in a real-world environment.
“I want to be on the line, flying passengers to their destinations and interacting with them, along with ATC and fellow pilots,” said Nick. “I think that is what I’m most looking forward to do – the day-to-day operations of being a pilot and no longer in hypothetical situations. All this experience will one-day lead me to being a First Officer and eventually a Captain at Republic.”
A Pennsylvania native who has spent time in Wyoming, Indiana, and now Massachusetts, Nick is eager to travel and explore new places and cultures. Upon completion of his training at Cape Air in Hyannis, Nick will be assigned in the Caribbean.
“My first assignment is to an island called Nevis,” he said. “I just learned about Nevis a couple days ago. I had no idea, and now I’ll be moving there shortly. After spending so much time doing construction in Wyoming winters, I’m ready for some warm weather.”
Ready to start your journey to a rewarding career? Visit the Flight Programs page to learn more about the Cape Air JumpStart Pilot Pathway and other programs offered through LIFT Academy.
