Scott Bode knew he wanted to become a pilot at a young age. He originally wanted to fly seaplanes, but once he knew that it didn’t pay well, he headed in a different career direction. Still staying true to what originally sparked his interest, he went and got his commercial seaplane rating. When asked, he said, “The best answer I can come up with to why someone should become a pilot is because it’s something they have a drive for.”
Scott graduated from Potosi High School in 2004. He said his favorite things about Potosi High were his friends. He had a lot of fun because of his class being so small. After graduating, he went on to the University of Dubuque. That is where he earned two degrees, one in Aviation Business Management and the other in Flight Operations. His favorite part of college was his friends. Scott said, “instead of running into friends at Yoder’s or Tenosi, I run into them in cities across the country.” He shared an interesting story: “Myself and another pilot were at a bar in London one time. Through the door walks one of his students from when he was a flight instructor. The other pilot he was with has mutual friends as they all lived in the Dallas area at one point in time.” He also shared that “in aviation, the world gets very small.”
When I asked Scott about his favorite experiences while being a pilot, he said, “there are so many to list.” He shared that he has taken many people on their first flights, as well as a few on their last flights. He has been to many places and seen a lot. He hasn’t been to only one state and two continents. He said, “I’ve seen things that few will get to see like meteor showers, northern lights, flying around thunderstorms at night, etc.” He enjoys getting to experience many different cultures, meeting new people, and having friends all over the world.
I asked Scott what was his favorite thing about his job right now. His response was the plane that he flies, which is a Boeing 757 or a 767. He says “it is an old reliable workhorse.” He shared some interesting things about 757/767s. The first thing he shared was that it has a super high thrust to weight ratio, which means that it can do things that other planes struggle to do such as fly from mountainous airports with wet or snow-covered runways with a completely full airplane. Another thing he shared was they can land on shorter runways and fly long distances from the same runways. He also shared that even though the 757/767 are less fuel efficient than the newer aircraft, their weight capabilities allow them to carry more fuel, which then equals more endurance so they can do flights to Hawaii from almost anywhere in the United States without needing to limit passenger seating and cargo capabilities. He said, “it will be a sad day in aviation when the 757/767 is gone.”
Scott’s favorite job was the lowest paying job he has had. “I loved every minute of flying skydivers.” Some of his favorite parts were the great people, campfires after work, lots of laughs, and life-long friendships. He liked that they let you fly however you wanted because they only cared about jumping out. Another thing he shared was, “The club’s membership consisted of all walks of life: farmers, doctors, salespeople, tradesmen, teachers, pilots, and veterans. The conversations were literally limitless. We had so much fun.”
When I asked Scott about his aviation goals, he shared a couple thoughts with me. He said, “I’ve been lucky enough to check most of the boxes on my goals.” He has spent many years as a private and corporate jet pilot as well as an airline pilot. When he was a corporate pilot, he was able to work his way into an Aviation Department Manager position where he “was fortunate enough to lead and work with some great people for an awesome family-owned company.” He left there for more planned time off and better retirement benefits that airlines offer. He shared that “At Delta, I fly the 757 and 767 as it offers a great combination of domestic and international options for work. These aircraft will soon retire and I’ll switch equipment. At that point, maybe I’ll look for some additional duties in our union or Pilot Training Center.”