Fly First, Drive Later: Tee Pearman is a 16-Year-Old Third-Generation Pilot

TUPELO • Growing up in a family of pilots, Tee Pearman was all but destined to get in a cockpit and fly one day.

At 16, he does just that, taking his first solo flight recently. And Tee hasn’t gotten his driver’s license yet.

“When I was a little kid, I saw my dad flying a lot,” Tee said, “and I decided then. The first time I really remember was I was about 6, flying with my dad.”

Leslie Pearman, his mom, said he was actually much younger when he first flew.

“He was about two weeks old when we went to an air show,” she said. “So he really didn’t have much choice in wanting to be a pilot. He figured out how fun it was, and what he grew up wanting to be.”

Tee’s father Aubie is a long-time pilot and once served as corporate pilot for BancorpSouth. That same plane he flew his son in a decade ago is the same plane Tee flies, a Piper J3 Cub.

“You’re all by yourself and in control, and there’s never anything else that’s up there to bother you,” Tee said. “It’s an exhilarating experience ... there’s really nothing that can give me that same kind of high.”

Tee is up in the air at least three times a week, weather permitting.

Whether Tee follows in his dad’s footsteps remains to be seen, as he said he’s just “going with the flow.”

“I know for a fact I want to fly one day, and that’s a fact,” Tee said, whether it’s in the form of a commercial pilot or a private pilot.

Robert McEachern, Tee’s grandfather, is a pilot himself and said he couldn’t be prouder.

“I’m a pilot, his momma’s a pilot, his daddy’s a pilot, and he’s going to be a pilot – it’s just expected,” he said with a laugh.

It didn’t take much effort to ensure his grandson would get in the air, and McEachern happened to be the pilot who signed off on Tee’s solo fight.

Tee had to first get a student pilot certificate and pass a written test regarding FAA regulations airspace rules and flight characteristics and operational limitations of his plane.

Then he had to log flight training from a certified flight instructor like his grandfather and father on the maneuvers and procedures appropriate to the plane.

He also learned about flight preparation, taxiing a plane, climbing and turning, descent and landing, and a host of other requirements.

“He solo’d twice now and he’s got one more to do before he can really go out on his own by himself,” said McEachern, who celebrated 50 years of flying this year. He flew in the military and later as a pilot for a fractional aircraft ownership company.

For Leslie, seeing her son become a pilot is as proud a moment as any, and she hopes he finds a career in it.

“Like my dad said, it’s a good job, a good career that pays better than a lot of things you can do, plus there’s a high demand for it,” she said. “So he’ll have job security for a long time.”

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Twitter: @dennisseid

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