As we celebrate our students turning their tassels as they cross the stage, we look forward to watching our alumni spread their wings and fly, and one alumni decided to do just that… literally.
David Lanum, class of 2016, had a dream to fly that started as young as the age of two years old. After years of hard work and preparation, David received his Delta wings on January 11, 2023.
“I began actively pursuing my career when I was about 14 years old. Over the weekends I would go to ground and flight lessons at one of the local regional airports near Atlanta,” David said when recalling the journey to his current position.
David continued his lessons over the weekends during his high school career and continued his training through college. He was able to graduate from college with a degree in aviation in 2019, having earned all the ratings he would need to move forward post-graduation.
He began his career as a flight instructor over the summer of 2019 and slowly made the jump to airlines in 2021… but as everyone knows, achieving your dream doesn’t come without challenges.
“The most difficult step was completing training at my first regional airline… This is the biggest jump a pilot can make in their career. Suddenly moving from a flight instructor position flying single engine trainers, to learning airline regulations and turbine aircraft systems was a difficult process.”
After completion, David moved to simulator training, posing new challenges with change in speed when transitioning to turbine aircrafts. David would then go on to train for Delta, completing ground training and his “pilot indoctrination” course.
Having achieved his dream, David says, “I love everything about flying. Every day, you meet incredible people and see incredible places. It gives my family and girlfriend the ability to travel and experience things with ease. Nothing about it feels like a job.”
Throughout his five-year journey, David was grateful to have the Lord as his foundation. “Faith carried me through the entire journey. I truly believe that prayer and the prayers of friends and family was a huge influence in my success and journey. Delta has been my dream for as long as I can remember and faith was one of the biggest parts in getting here.”
When recalling his time at LCA, David said, “While at LCA I really developed the study habits and organization skills that enabled me to be a success in my college years and training.” Prior to graduating, he also studied aviation for his senior project, which he believes further motivated him to more actively pursue his dream. “Once I graduated and moved on to college I could not wait to get started. That same excitement provided even more motivation and I was able to move quickly through my training.”
As David continues to flip the pages in this new chapter of his life, he looks forward to gaining more experience, traveling, and mentoring new pilots.
David, we are so proud of all you have accomplished! We love watching you spread your wings and fly, and we hope to see you in the cockpit on our next flight!
