Faster takeoff: McHenry County College, Galt Airport join up to offer accelerated pilot certificate

Danny Dezanek of Spring Grove recalled being in the back of a small Cessna airplane as a child and being “terrified for the takeoff.” However, that experience sparked his desire to become a professional airplane pilot.

“I never conquered that fear until my first discovery flight when I was in control of the plane,” Dezanek said.

Dezanek, 18, took that control during his training with JB Aviation, a flight school at Galt Airport near Wonder Lake, where he is working toward his private pilot license, which he is expected to earn in July.

This fall, thanks to a new partnership between McHenry County College in Crystal Lake and JB Aviation at Galt Airport, Dezanek can continue his training, in a structured, accelerated program. Through the new partnership, he can advance more quickly to earning higher-level aviation certifications, which he said can help him land a good-paying job as a professional commercial pilot like his brother.

Though anyone can go to the airport and learn to fly at their own pace, MCC’s new Professional Aeronautics Certificate, or PAC, program is different. It’s a non-degreed, fast-track aviation program that leads to FAA certification. Its architect, Chris Johnson – a Florida resident who is a professional aviator and former professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Daytona Beach – said the program is designed to address the national pilot shortage.

“The supply of new commercial pilots is expected to pick up over the next few years. But under current conditions it doesn’t look like this will be enough to cover increasing demand and the bow wave of retirements the industry will face over the next decade. As a result, we expect that North America will be short nearly 30,000 pilots by 2032,” according to Oliver Wyman, a global management consulting firm.

Johnson said PAC was built “to leverage the structure and rigor of collegiate aviation while aligning with MCC’s value proposition of providing streamlined, affordable, local education.”

The partnership allows those who want to become professional commercial airline pilots to earn the required training hours, certificates and ratings in less than two years, rather than spending four years at a four year-college or university. Additionally, MCC’s PAC program costs half the price and students earn the same FAA license, Justin Cleland, co-owner of JB Aviation, said.

“We are excited about this,” said Cleland, who’s been flying airplanes for 27 years and has been company co-owner for 14. “You can move through all those licenses and ratings you need in a short amount of time. You could go to a four-year college, but this is a beeline to a career as a professional pilot as quickly as possible.”

Johnson and Cleland said bachelor’s degrees may be required to work in other areas of aviation but are not required to land a job flying for high-paying, commercial airlines.

“There is a huge demand for commercial pilots and it is projected to be a huge demand for professional pilots into the future. If you want to be a pilot, the best thing you can do, as soon as possible, is get in line, and take those jobs that are coming open,” Cleland said.

In 15 to 20 hours per week, students will learn on a technically advanced airplane and flight simulator paid for by JB Aviation primarily for use by MCC students. There also is classroom time. Students will graduate with a professional aeronautics certification with 250 to 300 hours of flight time, making them immediately qualified to be hired as flight instructors.

While working as instructors, pilots can accrue hours toward the 1,500 hours to fly large commercial airliners, Cleland and Johnson said.

Johnson said with the demand for skilled pilots comes incentives such as “record-breaking salaries,” big sign-on bonuses, travel perks and quicker upgrade times to the captain’s seat.

Because there currently is a demand at Galt Airport by students like Dezanek who already earned their first-level certification, the Private Pilot License (PPL), this fall, the course is only accepting students ready for the next levels, Johnson said. Those levels are Instrument Flight Rating (IFR), Commercial Pilot License (CPL), Certified Flight Instructor (CFI), Certified Flight Instructor Instrument (CFII) and Multi-Engine Instructor (MEI).

In Fall 2026, the course will accept first-time students, said Johnson who first created this program in 2023 at Madison College, which partnered with Wisconsin Aviation. Johnson said he also has PAC partnerships in Florida, Washington and Nebraska, with one in North Carolina set to launch in July.

The partnership follows MCC’s mission of “meeting the demand and connecting students with new opportunities,” said Alex Benn, coordinator of MCC’s Career Spark Programs, which helps student explore career paths and gain practical skills. “When Chris Johnson came to us with this idea to partner with a local flight school ... we were intrigued.”

When MCC does not have the equipment and capacity to run a particular program themselves, officials “turn to our community and the industry experts that thrive here,” Benn said, noting a similar partnership with Eagle Training Services for MCC’s Commercial Driver’s License program.

The PAC program “is meant to address the pilot shortage and offer students a local opportunity to become licensed pilots,” she said. “We felt that this aligns with MCC’s mission to provide affordable, convenient, and professional education and training.”

But is flying an airplane for everyone?

The first time Johnson flew he was 8, in his uncle’s airplane. Like Dezanek, he was “immediately hooked.” Johnson said he was 24 when he flew an airplane by himself and “it was incredible.”

“People either love it or they are really sort of fearful,” he said. “My hat’s off to those who are afraid but embrace that fear and they overcome it. The real exhilarating moment is that first solo. As soon as you get that first instructor out of there, and it is all you. I think that is the defining moment for most pilots.”