As a child, Ben Reherman loved the sights and sounds of the airport.

Every summer as he visited his grandparents Ron and Sandy Price in Tampa Bay, Fla., Reherman began to develop a love for aviation.

“The airport was really cool to me and I loved the planes and the pilots,” Reherman said.

Only a fascination back then, Reherman said it wasn’t something he ever really considered as a possible career until his junior year of high school.

“I did some research and discovered you can make a good career out of it,” Reherman said.

A 2021 Kingfisher High School graduate, Reherman is the son of Kyle and Shelly Reherman and grandson of John and Marsha Reherman, all of Kingfisher.

Luckily for Reherman, he had several good resources to foster his love of aviation right in his hometown.

Having spent some time in the air with local pilot Mike Matthews, Reherman said his passion for flying grew and he decided he wanted to pursue earning his private pilot’s license.

Reaching out to local pilot and flight instructor Tanner Farrar in January 2021, Reherman began his training.

After months of instruction, Reherman was preparing for his first solo flight and said he thought he would be scared, but he wasn’t.

“I did some landings with Tanner that day and then he said, ‘I’m going to get out and you’re going to do three landings by yourself,’” Reherman recounted.

“I thought, oh, it’s getting real now,” Reherman said. “He hopped out and I thought I would be more scared than I was.

“Honestly it was calming because you know you’re ready and you can do it…it’s just staying calm and applying everything you’ve learned and it was a lot of fun.”

After that day, Reherman said he began to crave flying on his own more and more.

He would soon be doing just that.

Accepted to Oklahoma State University’s aviation program his freshman year, Reherman went on to earn his private pilot’s license at the age of 19 in May 2022.

Since then Reherman has earned his instrument rating, is in the process of completing the final phase of his commercial multi-engine training and will graduate in December with a bachelor’s in aerospace administration and operations as well as holding various other certifications.

While at OSU, Reherman said he’s learned a lot and the program has a very structured, in-depth training with a good environment providing everything needed to become a commercial pilot.

“They are in your corner, wanting you to succeed as much as you do,” Reherman said.

“It’s a great school where they really care and I encourage people to go there if they want to become a pilot.”

After graduation, Reherman said the next step will be to earn his certified flight instructor rating and gain flight hours needed to earn his airline transport pilot (ATP) rating, enabling him to fly for a commercial airline.

With approximately 250 hours of flight time under his belt, Reherman said some of his favorite time in the air so far has been during his intermediate training flying cross-country and building hours with an instructor.

He recalled two specific times in which the instructor allowed him to choose the destination within a certain mileage range.

First they flew to Ft. Worth to try some barbecue.

The next week it was off to Kansas City to compare its style of barbecue.

Kansas City was the win-ner, Reherman said.

Not only in barbecue style, though.

“Kansas City was my favorite flight,” he said. “It wasn’t too long, but you get to sit back and look at the view and just take it all in.

“It’s cool going somewhere that you can’t easily drive to and back in one day.”

Preparation is key when it comes to aviation and Reherman said that has probably been the most challenging aspect so far.

“Check rides (to earn individual certifications) requires a lot of preparation and it’s like a driving test, but on steroids,” he said.

For anyone considering a career in aviation, Reherman said he would recommend taking a discovery flight “to make sure it’s actually something you want to do, because it’s very expensive and you have to be determined as well.

“Get a feel for it and make sure you enjoy it… it’s a lot of hard work, but a great field to be in where there is a good return on the investment.”

Obviously the money is a plus, Reherman added, but you go into it for the joy of aviation, not the money.

“I really enjoy it,” Reherman said. “I don’t like having a set schedule all the time and don’t want to sit in a cubicle the rest of my life.”

In addition to his love for aviation, Reherman also loves to travel and is looking forward to visiting places around the world.

“Your office is looking out of a window in the sky, seeing cool places and it looks different every week,” Reherman commented.

“It’s everything I wanted in a career and it just ended up being the perfect fit.”