SHELBY — Landon Eastman learned to fly a plane before he could drive a car.
The 16-year-old’s love for aircraft is something he shares with his twin brother, Charlie.
Sophomores at Shelby High School, the twins’ passion for being in the sky is something which came naturally — by watching their father.
Ben Eastman flew 20 years for United Express before being laid off at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, he accepted a job offer from Sterling Airways.
This opportunity led to Ben becoming the chief pilot of Alaska-based Aleutian Airways. He primarily works from home, but takes about four trips a year to Alaska.
Two summers ago, the Eastman family spent the whole season in the northwest extremity of North America — where the twins got to experience Aleutian first hand.
“They were crawling around the airplanes and seeing them coming and going,” Ben said of his sons. “A light bulb went off I think on that trip.”
Eastman twins inspired by trip to Alaska
During his summer in Alaska, Landon decided to purchase what every teen would naturally pick out for themselves — a Federal Aviation Administration pilot’s handbook.
“He started reading about that as much as he could, and started quizzing me every once in a while,” Charlie said. “Eventually it was like, ‘OK, this is kind of cool.'”
Ben booked the boys’ first discovery flight about three weeks before their 15th birthday and said it’s all they’ve talked about since.
The twins have been training a little more than one year with instructor Jonathan Jones at Galion Municipal Airport. Sometimes they fly once a month, but recently it’s been multiple times per week on occasion.
“We do a little bit (of training) on the ground, then we go in the plane and we practice,” Landon said. “Sometimes we go over the Shelby area and do our practice turns and stalls.”
Other times, their flight path leads them to Mansfield Lahm Regional Airport to practice air traffic control language.
Ben said he appreciates Jones instruction, explaining it’s the way he learned himself.
“We appreciate finding an instructor that really concentrates on the basics for them,” he said. “It gives them a really good foundation.”
Sweet 16 surprise
While trying to schedule their first solo flight, the Eastman twins’ reservations continued to be cancelled.
During one of his last booking attempts, Charlie said weather conditions forecasted for after-school hours were unfavorable.
“I started begging dad to take us out of school that day to let us go fly,” he said.
What appeared to the twins as a glitch turned out to be a masterfully executed plan by their father and Jones.
Both Charlie and Landon successfully completed their first solo flights in August on their 16th birthday, as did their father during his youth.
According to FAA data from 2022/2023, Ben said there were 615 student pilots registered between the ages of 16 to 19 — highlighting the rarity of the twins’ accomplishment.
“My heart was coming out of my chest the day they soloed,” the father said.
He never discouraged his sons’ desire to follow his footsteps — but never openly promoted it either.
“I wanted them to, if it’s a career field that they were interested in, organically find it for themselves,” he said.
Next steps & future ambitions
The Eastman twins are now working towards their cross-country flight endorsement.
Charlie said to qualify as a cross-country flight, the pilot must travel more than 50 nautical miles. Next, the boys want to earn their solo cross-country endorsement.
“After that we’re just going to be practicing for our checkride, which lets you know we’re able to fly with passengers and get our private license,” Charlie said.
In order to test for their private pilot’s license, the twins must be 17. They’re already counting down the days until their birthday on Aug. 27, 2025.
Upon graduation from high school, both Charlie and Landon are interested in attending Purdue University — which offers a strong flight program, Landon said.
Professionally, the duo said they’d be interested in beginning their career under their father at Aleutian. After that, they’d each like to fly for a legacy airline, such as Delta, American or United.
While listening to his sons talk about all things aircraft, Ben sat with a smile on his face.
“As a parent, it’s probably every emotion you could possibly have wrapped into one,” he said. “But the biggest one is pride. I’m just very, very proud of them.
“They have a lot more figured out about their game plan than I had at 16, knowing I wanted to do the same thing that they’re wanting to do. My path wasn’t as clear on how I was going to get there — these guys have done their research.”