Teens in Flight, a non-profit flight training program dedicated to empowering youth through aviation education, announced the addition of Freud Jeantilus to its team of flight instructors.
Originally from Haiti, Jeantilus was 8 when he moved to the United States with his mother to reunite with his father, who was in New Jersey. There, he was part of the Union High School Farmers football team, which won the state championship in 2019. A recent graduate from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) with a degree in Aeronautical Science and a minor in Business Administration, Freud is currently enrolled in a cadet program with Frontier Airlines.
Certified with both Commercial and Multi-Engine Rating certifications, Jeantilus is on a mission to accumulate 1,000 flight hours as he prepares for a career with Frontier. The hiring process takes about two months: Frontier gives you a class date, you go through three sets of interviews, a zoom interview, a personality interview, then you get added to the pilot pool once you graduate. After he completes his flight simulator classes, he will fly an A320 and A321-airbus.
Jeantilus got his certification as a flight instructor from Epic Flight Academy in January. He found Teens in Flight through one of the organization’s other flight instructors, Will Patton. Patton was a flight instructor at Teens in Flight who was leaving to move to Minnesota to pursue a career at Endeavor Airlines. Since starting at Teens in Flight last week, Jeantilus has already flown three times–a discovery flight, a cross-country trip, and a maneuver training session with a student.
“Being from Haiti, I want to inspire young people since there is not a lot of opportunity there,” Jeantilus said. “Flight school is challenging. You have to love it. My advice to young people is to focus, work hard, and put God first. Find what you love to do, then find a way to get paid for it.” Jeantilus added that he has plans to return to school to earn his MBA in Business Administration.
Jeantilus attributes his success to his family’s encouragement and guidance. “My family got me this far. Surround yourself with a good support system,” he said. “It’s crucial in navigating the path to achieving your dreams.” Jeantilus lives with his aunt and has three siblings–twin 5-year-old boys and a 6-year-old sister–whom he wants to make proud.
“We couldn’t be happier to have Freud join our team,” said Ric Lehman, executive director of Teens in Flight. “Freud’s journey underscores the program’s commitment to providing high-quality aviation education and mentorship to the next generation of pilots.”
The Teens-In-Flight program, founded by Jack Howell, the retired colonel and former Palm Coast City Council member, in 2006, allows teenagers to earn a private pilot’s license at no cost. Students have been placed at Stetson University, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, the U.S. Air Force Academy, United States Naval Academy, West Point, the U.S. Military Academy and more. Howell founded the organization to give flight instruction to the sons and daughters of families of members of the armed services and of first responders who have suffered loss or emotional hard. Howell remains as the board’s president.
Teens in Flight operates out of the Flagler County airport.
Ethan Johnson says
That’s my cousin Luigi way to gooo make sure to get us a free flight from Ethan
BK says
Congratulations, young man. Keep up the good work. Excellent article.
JackOfSpades says
I had an email exchange with Ric Lehman, the Executive Director and VP of this organization. I was just trying to point out some of their flight patterns that are quite disruptive to people in this area, and I offered a recent example of such a flight from Tue 5/7/24. This is his response, and a direct quote:
“As to your area, thank you. I meet with all other schools in Daytona tomorrow and will share it with them. We’ll wave as we fly by. We will fly our planes when and where we are allowed by the FAA and that includes over your house.”
If this is not a threat of harassment, what is?
Prior to Teens In Flight, Mr. Lehman was the owner of Haven Horse Ranch, which has a 2.5 star rating on Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/haven-horse-ranch-st-augustine. So apparently he was quite the charmer there as well. This horse ranch is now closed according to Google, seems to have gone out of business around 2019.