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Staring into the sky while watching planes glide over his Lake Forest home is something that Kyle Wix remembers doing frequently as a young child.
As early as he remembers, Wix was fascinated by planes. He was not fascinated solely by the way the planes looked as they glided across the horizon, rather it was the thought of one-day piloting one that grabbed Wix’s attention.
“Growing up, I used to always play with toy airplanes and make airports with them in my room,” Wix said.
But eventually, he was eager to trade in the toy planes for real ones. His first experience in the pilot seat came when he was ten years old at a small airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
“I finally had the chance to go up front on my first flight at the controls,” said Wix. “The pilot let me hold the controls and fly for a few minutes during the flight and after that, I was sold.”
From there, Wix’s profound interest in planes and his desire to become a pilot only continued to grow.
For six years, Wix awaited the day he could enroll in flight lessons at the local Waukegan Regional Airport.
On his 16th birthday, once he met the age requirement, Kyle began flight training. Although the single-propeller planes weren’t exactly the large commercial airlines he dreamt of flying, he knew he would have to start small and work his way up toward flying larger aircrafts.
Every week for the remainder of his time at LFHS, Wix continued these flight lessons and his training.
Although LFHS does not offer classes geared toward aviation, Wix learned other essential skills during his time in high school that have helped contribute to his success as a pilot.
“Many of my teachers held us to a high standard in the classroom, forcing me and my classmates to be hard-working and accountable individuals,” said Wix. “Those character traits have been essential throughout my career today.”
Outside of the classroom, Wix was a varsity baseball player, which helped him further develop skills useful for a piloting career.
“While we didn’t win every game when I was in high school, I did learn the importance of bringing the same high level of preparedness, focus, and energy to every game that we played,” said Wix. “Obviously, in my job, we have to be successful every time we go to the airplane, so bringing those same traits to my work has been extremely helpful to our safety and success.”
Wix’s high school baseball coach, Ray Del Fava, says that he always knew that Wix would go on to achieve success in any career path he chose.
“Wixie was mature beyond his years, he was always the voice of reason when things were not going well,” said Del Fava. “Always displaying the traits of a leader, Kyle without a doubt had the leadership skills needed to become a pilot.”
After his time at LFHS, Wix attended Purdue University, which is the highest-ranked aviation school in America.
He graduated from Purdue with a bachelor’s degree in Professional Flight Technology and a minor in Economics. While earning his degree, Wix was provided with many valuable opportunities.
“I was able to start flight instructing my junior year of school which helped me build flight time for an airline job down the road, and thanks to my success in training and relationships built, I had the chance to instruct younger students in our full-motion jet simulator,” said Wix.
His experience instructing students in the jet simulator allowed Wix to earn his next position as a co-pilot on the jet Purdue University flew for business.
Once he reached his senior year, Wix was given the opportunity to be the pilot for Purdue’s President, Trustees, and football coach.
After graduating as one of the top pilots in his class, Wix started working for Envoy Air, a company owned and operated by American Airlines. During his employment for Envoy Air, Wix piloted 76-seat regional jets out of Chicago O’Hare.
Wix was recently offered another outstanding position.
“I am happy to say that I just received and accepted an offer to start with Southwest Airlines this fall which is something beyond my wildest imagination at this stage in my career,” said Wix.
With this new position, Wix has officially achieved the lifelong goal he has dreamt of since his days as a young boy playing with toy airplanes.
Wix’s journey is a true testament that with hard work and dedication lifelong dreams can come to fruition.
If you are ever flying on Southwest Airlines and hear “ Hello, Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your Captain Kyle Wix speaking,” just know that you are in good hands.
