Two Teens Take to the Skies to Help Others
Levi Gordon and Nate Skor have delivered supplies to aid victims of Hurricane Helene.
Two Atlanta high school seniors put their passion for aviation to excellent use recently when they flew 250 pounds of relief supplies to help people in the devastated western region of North Carolina that had been hit by Hurricane Helene.
Levi Gordon, a senior at Weber High School, and Nate Skor, a senior at Riverwood High School, have been flying for many years out of Peachtree DeKalb Airport, beginning in middle school. When they learned of a Facebook page created to help the victims of Hurricane Helene, they immediately signed on to pick up and deliver supplies from Atlanta to a private airport west of the Greensboro/Winston-Salem area. The young men delivered clothing, toiletries, baby supplies, paper goods and food during two separate trips.
“We wanted to give to communities who needed help the most,” said Levi, “and what better way to contribute than to use our skills as pilots.”
And their generosity extends beyond humans. Levi and Nate have been flying regularly for Pilots N Paws, an organization composed of volunteer pilots who rescue dogs and cats from life-threatening situations. Most recently, they flew six dogs on a euthanasia list at an animal shelter in Albany, Ga. to a dog rescue group in St. Augustine, Fla.
Shelley Gordon, Levi’s mother, explained that her son’s nursery was “decked out in planes” since birth – and she swears his first word was also “plane.” Frequent trips to Peachtree DeKalb Airport to see planes and the yearly airshow, as well as trips to Virginia Beach, his mother’s hometown, to see fighter jets light up the sky solidified his lifelong fervor for aviation.
Loren Skor, Nate’s mother said, “I still have the plane hanging in Nate’s room from his nursery. At 5 years old, he was obsessed with everything that involved flight. At 13, he used his bar mitzvah money to build a flight simulator from scratch.”
Nate remembered ordering parts online and conducting research for each step in the process of successfully developing his flight simulator. He said, “It was a really fun experience creating what seemed like a big Lego. I did not have any step-by-step instructions, so I was free to put it all together as it made sense to me.”
The aspiring pilots initially met in preschool and found each other again during their early training years at Centennial Aviation Academy, a nationally ranked flight school at Peachtree DeKalb Airport. They shared many common friends, as well as a zest for the skies, and quickly hit it off. They mastered the three-year program, which kept them busy every weekend with ground school on the weekends and monthly flying lessons with instructors. This led to their first solo flights at 16 and their private pilot’s licenses when they turned 17.
Both young men hope to get their flight instructor certification sometime next year so they may share their enthusiasm for flying with up-and-coming student pilots. Additionally, both Levi and Nate plan for a future career in aviation. Nate’s dream job would be as a pilot with Delta Airlines, and Levi would like to work in business operations and management for a private aviation charter firm.
“Being a pilot combines so many different specialties and professions. To be successful, you have to be a meteorologist to understand weather conditions, a lawyer to understand the regulations, a physicist and a mechanic. It’s challenging, but I love every aspect,” said Levi.
While both boys had the initial financial support of their parents, now they each work hard to support their dreams of flying. Nate juggles several jobs and saves all of his money so he can independently fund his flying. Levi does the same and has been a DJ around Atlanta – known as “The DJ Levi” (recognized by AJT as a “Top DJ”) for five years.
With these two determined young men, their future looks bright and sunny, much like a perfect flight day. Up, up and away they go as they map out their flights and their futures.
comments