Though the true function of dreams remains unknown, most interpretations – whether they act as crystal balls into the future or time machines to our past – reflect subconscious desires; they provide glimpses into the things that keep people’s minds awake despite bodily unconsciousness. It’s then no surprise that, according to Amerisleep, flying is the most common positive dream, with more than 1⁄3 of Americans having experienced flight-related fantasies within their lifetimes.

Taking flight in the front seat allows one, quite literally, to see the world from an entirely different perspective, to experience the world in a way most confine only to their imaginations. But for Michael Esimio (‘25), Danielle Ottenberg (‘26) and David Levin (‘25), dreams have become reality. Each training for their pilot licenses, these three East students shared their aviation journeys with Eastside.

David Levin (‘25)
Beginning in sophomore year Driver’s Ed, most high schoolers eagerly wait and prepare for their seventeenth birthdays. Obtaining a driver’s license and being able to, with music blasting and your friends in the backseat, go anywhere and everywhere, is a freedom nearly all teenagers yearn for. But for David Levin (‘25), cruising down Route 70 is not enough. What’s truly liberating is the ability to travel through the clouds with friends, defying gravity just for the sake of having fun.

Though Levin’s interest in aeronautics began in elementary school, his first official flight was in May of 2022. The son of a medical examiner at the South Jersey Regional Airport flight school, Levin took his first discovery flight at 15 years old and took off from there.

“It’s just something for myself. Having a license is convenient for a little extra fun on trips; it’s also just a cool way to get started,” Levin said.

He is specifically working toward obtaining a private pilot license – a process that significantly differs from the more demanding commercial pilot license. Essentially, by the end of his training, which consists of a light combination of 1-2 weekly ground school lessons and actual flights and a flexible schedule that allows him to pursue his other extracurricular and academic interests, he will be able to fly anywhere his fuel can propel him. Not only has flying expanded his horizons in a literal sense, but it’s also tested his mental fortitude and allowed him to confront his fears. Now, he enjoys the thrill he once strayed away from.

“I can guarantee you if I was in that plane for five more minutes the first time I flew I would’ve puked all over the cockpit. You don’t really do too many interesting things when you’re learning because, well, you’re learning, but I like doing zero-g maneuvers. Basically you full throttle straight up into the air, then cut the throttle and make an arc back down. This is actually how astronauts train in zero gravity, just with a much bigger plane,” he said.

Michael Esimio (‘25)
At noon, while most high schoolers are busy trying to stay awake after lunch, Michael Esimio (‘25) is flying 5,000 feet above the ground. Esimio, who hopes to become a commercial pilot for a major airline, began taking a half-day schedule at school during his senior year to make time for flying lessons.

“It was really fascinating how a big, huge, heavy metal tube could go into the air. As I got older, I started studying everything about it, anything from airports to aircraft to engineering,” Esimio said.

Esimio is currently earning his private pilot’s license, which includes passing a written test and meeting a certain number of hours of flight training. Typically, he leaves school at 10:30 a.m. and takes the highway straight to Flying Airport in Medford, NJ, where he does groundwork and studies before getting into his Cessna 152. Although a private license is the first step to flying commercially, there are several paths to attaining the credentials needed.

“There’s two different types of flight schools. One is very strict, like ‘day one, you do this, day two, you do this…’ The quicker one is a Part 141 flight school, and it might cost less money because everything’s planned out, but it’s like school,” Esimio says. “What I’m doing is a Part 61 flight school, which is very easy to get into. You can go on a. discovery flight first, and it’s like 100 bucks.”

While both methods ensure students have the abilities needed to attain their license, financial costs are the biggest entry barrier, Esimio explains. Plane rentals and varying instructor costs are all factors aspiring pilots have to consider. Even then, weather constraints may mean original flight plans have to be rescheduled.

“In a place like New Jersey, sometimes there’s a lot of wind, things like that, versus Arizona or Florida. They have perfect weather every day, so it’s like they get to fly every day,” he said.

Regardless, Esimio’s experience has been invaluable, and he looks forward to flying long distances as he gains experience.“I’ve gotten to fly over my friends’ houses. So like, I drove that road, or I drove on that highway. I’m planning a cross country to Allentown,” Esimio said.

After graduation, he plans on attending a two-year flight school program at Trenton Mercer Airport.

Danielle Ottenberg (‘26)
The LEGO City passenger airplane set can be constructed by anyone over the age of seven, consists of 913 blocks and has an constructed by anyone over the age of seven, consists of 913 blocks and has an estimated build time of 100 minutes. What, then, does it take to build a real 1,000-lb aircraft?

Well, Danielle Ottenberg (‘26), the president of Cherry Hill East’s Aviation Club, is intersecting her passion for aeronautics with engineering by building a real, fully functional aircraft completely from scratch.

While concurrently studying to pass her private pilot’s license written examinations – the first step to her dream of flying for big commercial airlines like Delta, United and American – Ottenberg joined a program at the Rogue Valley International Medford Airport in 2023. For nearly two years since then, she, along with a group of other teenagers and under the mentorship of military personnel and former commercial pilots, are building an experimental aircraft. Her team aims to fly the plane – the RV-12 by Van’s Aircraft – within the next two years.

“We do everything from scratch. We file and sand every single piece of sheet metal, as well as drill and paint all the pieces… I go up to the airport for five hours every Saturday to work on it,” Ottenberg said.

Impassioned by aviation, flying has also seeped into other aspects of Ottenberg’s everyday life. Take the METAR, for example, which she uses in lieu of the weather app.

“It gives you a bunch of code… so if you look at SZT060, it means there are scattered clouds at 6,000 feet. I think it’s easier than using my phone because it gives so many specifics,” said Ottenberg.

Looking forward, Ottenberg hopes to pursue her dream of flying.