First-Year Eagle Jumpstarts Piloting Career and Shares Love for Aviation Online

Hudson Garber (’27) is pursuing a degree in Aeronautical Science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Eager to improve his piloting skills and experience, Garber earned his private pilot license as well as multiple endorsements before even stepping foot on campus.

Early Beginnings in Flight

Garber says he grew up right next to the Albany International Airport in Albany, New York, which piqued his interest in planes from childhood.

When he turned 16, the youngest age at which you’re able to fly alone, he jumped at the opportunity to take his first solo flight. At 17, also the youngest age possible to do so, he earned his private pilot license.

“I got my private pilot license back in March of 2022. I just couldn't wait around any longer to start my instrument training,” he shared. “I wanted to start as soon as I could and just continue to learn - because a good pilot is always learning, and I don't want to develop bad habits.”

Choosing the Right School

When Garber graduated high school and was choosing which college to attend, Embry-Riddle was immediately at the top of his list.

“It's the best. It's known as the ‘Harvard of the Sky.’ My mom knew about what I wanted to do, and she was telling me, ‘This is the school to go to. Let's go check out the campus.’ So that's what we did,” he remembered. “That was around two years ago, and I fell in love. I thought, ‘yep, this is where I want to be.’”

Since then, Garber has enjoyed his time at Embry-Riddle, noting that making friends in his classes is easy because: “We’re all pilots. We all have a common interest.”

Earning Endorsements

In an effort to continually grow his piloting skills and capabilities, Garber has dedicated time to earning a variety of endorsements, which are given by a certified flight instructor and prove that Garber has been properly trained to complete a certain task or use a certain instrument.

Garber has earned his high-performance endorsement, his complex aircraft endorsement and his tailwheel endorsement.

“When I first flew a tailwheel plane, it was like learning how to fly a plane again. It's so different when taking off because of the tail in the back; getting up, rotating and especially landing. That was probably the most difficult part of it,” he said. “Figuring out how to land was super rewarding. I'm very happy that I can fly tailwheel planes now and for fun as well.”

YouTube and TikTok

Garber dedicates much of his time to sharing his passion for aviation via both his YouTube and TikTok channels, working to achieve his longtime dream of cultivating a platform where he can share his experiences in piloting.

“Ever since I was in elementary school, my dream was... to become someone who shares their experience with the world,” he said. “Back then, there weren’t many people who would make vlogs [blogs in video format] about them flying and the journey to becoming a pilot.”

Garber cites his desire to inspire others as his main motivation for continuing to create aviation-related content.

“I like sharing my passion with the world and possibly affecting others,” he shared. “Potentially, my goal is for a kid who's in high school and doesn't really know what they want to do to see my YouTube videos and think, ‘Flying is so cool. I should get into that.’ It helps people understand the cool part of being a pilot at such a young age.”

Garber’s video content showcases how he prepares for flights, conversations between himself and his passengers, experiences earning endorsements and much more.

Watch Garber earn his taildragger endorsement:

Advice for Others

When asked what advice he would give to fellow aspiring pilots, Garber had some words of wisdom to offer.

“My motto is ‘just send it.’ Take a discovery flight, take a few flight lessons and I guarantee you will fall in love with it. If you’re ever in a little setback, learn from the mistake because that will make you a better pilot,” he shared of his own philosophy. “Mistakes are learning moments.”

You can follow Garber’s journey to becoming a professional pilot on his YouTube channel and TikTok account, below.