At 5 a.m. on weekends, while many high school students were still asleep, Adam Mages was already awake and preparing for flight lessons. The high school senior spent months balancing farming, school, and aviation training before earning his pilot’s license in December
Mages said his love for flying began when he was young, taking trips with his grandpa. One memory still stands out clearly.
“My first flight experience was with my grandpa when I was about 7,” Mages said. “I got to take off the plane.”
That early experience sparked a passion that eventually led him to pursue aviation himself. Mages said both his grandpa and the feeling of flying inspired him to learn how to pilot planes.
Training to become a pilot was not easy. Mages began lessons in November 2025 through Minnesota State University in Mankato. He said learning to fly required mastering emergency procedures, weather information, mechanical systems, and difficult maneuvers such as steep turns and slow flight.
“It takes a lot of money and a lot of time studying,” Mages said. “So far, it’s the hardest thing I have done.”
Balancing flight training with high school responsibilities also proved challenging. During the school year, Mages woke up before sunrise every Saturday and Sunday to drive to Mankato for 6:30 am lessons.
“It was a drag some days, but worth it now,” he said.
Mages said flying has changed his high school experience in unexpected ways. While many students spent weekends at school events, he often had to sacrifice time with friends to focus on training.
“It has made me sacrifice some weekend nights like homecoming,” Mages said.
Even with the sacrifices, Mages said the rewards of flying make the hard work worthwhile. His favorite part of piloting is landing the aircraft smoothly.
“Landing is fun,” he said. “It’s an adrenaline rush.”
He also enjoys seeing familiar sights from above, including local farms and houses. One of the coolest things he has witnessed in the air was watching a crop duster flying far below his plane as it sprayed fields.
Although Mages now has his license, he admitted that flying with passengers for the first time was nerve-racking.
“Yes, especially because it was my mom,” he said. “I didn’t want to mess up.”
When taking friends flying, Mages said he still feels some nerves, especially while learning to fly older planes compared to the newer aircraft he trained in. However, he enjoys sharing the experience with others.
“It has always been motivational to take friends up instead of boring instructors,” he said.
Mages hopes to continue flying in the future and possibly work in crop dusting someday. He also wants to learn to fly different types of aircraft.
For other students interested in aviation, Mages offered simple advice: do not quit when things become difficult.
“Some days are struggles, but just don’t give up,” he said. “The more lessons you fail, the safer pilot you’ll end up being.”
