Anthony James Thompson

My passion to be a pilot started in my early teens when my uncle would take me flying in his Cessna 150 on the weekends. We would fly to different locations and meet his friends for lunch. It was everything about the flights from the speed and lift at takeoff, to looking down at the view of the mountains and cities, to watching the large jets and feeling their vibration when landing. I knew I wanted to be a professional pilot. I went to high school at Canyon High School in Anaheim Hills where they offered a program called Career Technical Education or CTE. CTE was a four year commitment which had structured courses that focused on a specific career pathway, which in my case was aviation. The fourth year included a professional aviation internship at Fullerton Airport where I worked for Fun Outside Aviation. I continued to work at Fun Outside after my high school graduation and it was there I earned my private pilot certificate. That solidified my desire to continue my pursuit in aviation as a professional pilot. With the support of my parents, I moved to San Diego, where I earned my IFR and commercial ratings at the American Airlines Cadet Academy. After finishing my commercial rating, I decided to attend an accelerated program in Ohio, where I earned my Cfi and CFII. When I returned to San Diego I taught at Sling Pilot Academy for about six months then decided to start my own Flight school at Plus One Flyers teaching private pilots through instrument ratings. I now have over 2,300 hours and hope to fly for (name of company.