Story 6

Hours in airports, days of travel and living out of a suitcase—the life of an airplane pilot. Tim Mesjak of Woodland, Wash. knows the sacrifice and at the end of the day says it is all worth it.

Mesjak, 37, has had an interest in airplanes since his sophomore year in high school. He grew up in Brooklyn Park, Minn. and it was there that he found his love for flying. “I took an aviation class (in high school) and really found airplanes interesting,” he said. Mesjak decided to further his education and interest in airplanes at University of North Dakota (UND), where he received his Bachelor of Science in airway science: air craft systems management in 1996. A Bachelor of Science in airway science: air craft systems management “is basically designed to make you a professional pilot, an aviation inspector for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), or an accident investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSP),” stated Mesjak.

Tim has been a pilot since graduating, first working for Horizon and is currently flying for Alaska Airlines. He has been with Alaska Airlines for five years now and is ranked First Officer for flying a Boeing 737 jet. The next step in ranks for Tim is Captain, “The difference between a Captain and First Officer is the Captain calls all the shots and deals with other issues,” said Mesjak, “but as far as actually flying the plane goes, there is no difference.” The First Officer sits to the right of the Captain in the cockpit. He has flown all around the U.S. and said his favorite place he’s flown into was Kauai, Hawaii.

Being a pilot, Mesjak spends a lot of time in airports and away from home. “The only downside to being a pilot is the four or five day trips where you bounce from airport to airport and hotel to hotel,” he said. Through all the travel and the time being spent away from home Tim still maintains a relationship with his wife of four years, Carly Mesjak. He met her through a mutual friend in aviation. She works as an air traffic controller for the Portland Airport, so she understands the aviation and/or traveling lifestyle. Tim and Carly recently built a house on five acres of land in Woodland, Wash. “It’s nice to be in small town and get some peace and quiet. It really is relaxing being surrounded by woods after a long week on the road in big cities such as New York,” said Tim.

When he is not on the road traveling, Tim enjoys playing golf, water-skiing, going on nature walks with his wife and watching sports and relaxing. Being a pilot is what he always wanted to do and he says it is very rewarding. “It gets stressful at times,” he said, “but there isn’t a better feeling than flying an airplane and there is nothing I’d rather be doing.” Tim plans to keep flying for Alaska Airlines and hopes that in the years to come he will be a Captain.