Mom’s leap of faith pays off as 19-y-o takes to the skies

When mom Kerrine Blair realised that she could do no more to influence her son’s career choice, she admitted defeat and decided to fully support him in his quest to become a pilot.

The fact that she had just bought a house in Montego Bay, St James, hardly mattered then. She packed up and headed east to enable him to attend Wolmer’s Boys’ School after he got his first choice in the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) examinations.

Today, she has no regrets as her son, Mikhail Grey, is a pilot at just 19.

The story began in Montego Bay, where Grey attended Howard Cooke Primary School and later, Hemmingay Preparatory School. Somewhere along the way, his mind became set on becoming a pilot, and it never shifted.

“As young as I can remember, ever since I was a baby, I was interested in flying,” he told The Gleaner.

“At career day at basic or prep school, I always dressed as a pilot because that’s something I’ve always wanted to do. Even when I’m playing online games, I always play the flying games, like on Roblox or Microsoft.”

According to the young pilot, it was the intricacies involved in flying that captured his imagination.

“I just think it’s the complexity of it; how rewarding, how challenging and fun it can be at times. Hence, I feel that’s what really captured my interest in flying.

“Ever since, it has definitely been straight pilot. I never had interest in anything else. Basically, it was pilot or nothing.”

When the time came for the PEP examinations, he told his mom that he wanted to attend Wolmer’s Boys’. Bright as he was, he got his first choice, and his mother never hesitated because by then she had decided to support him wholeheartedly.

They packed up, left Montego Bay, and headed to Kingston to pursue his Wolmer’s dream.

EARLY ADMISSION

Grey did well at Wolmer’s, but midway through his final year, while his classmates and friends were busy trying to decide whether to attend The University of the West Indies, the University of Technology, or some other university, his mind was already set elsewhere.

“During fifth form, I applied to a school overseas that does flight training, so as soon as I graduated, I went straight overseas and started,” he said.

He graduated from Wolmer’s in 2024 with the prerequisite Caribbean Examinations Council and Scholastic Aptitude Test passes and later flew to Broward College in Florida to begin training at the Phoenix Aviation Academy after his acceptance was confirmed.

Training began in the spring of 2025, with some prerequisite work that needed to be completed.

“In the summer semester, that’s when I started flight training, from May to September. That’s how long it took me to get my private pilot licence. So, having finished my private pilot licence and instrumentation rating, all I have left is my commercial pilot licence, multiengine add-on, and certified flight instructor.”

Grey said that while 40 hours of flight time is usually required to complete training for a private licence, Phoenix requires a minimum of 35 hours under its advanced curriculum.

“I finished my licence with around 50 hours,” he revealed.

Each time he went up in the plane, he would fly for between an hour and a half and two hours.

“My very first time flying was a discovery flight where they send you up for, like, 15 minutes with another pilot. To be honest, the experience was so surreal. It’s just a different feeling from being a passenger to being in the pilot’s seat. It’s like you have a stronger feeling for whatever the aircraft does in the air, like you feel more connected to it. It was a very exciting feeling for me.”

But that excitement is tinged with love, respect, and admiration for his mom, Blair, and dad, Gerald Grey.

GRATEFUL

“Every time I go up and fly, I always think about how hard my parents work to get me up here, to get me to this level. It’s not an easy task, so I definitely have to be thankful to my parents for giving me the opportunity.”

The next step is to get his commercial pilot licence, with training set to begin this semester in August and completion scheduled for December.

But with an age limit of 21 before he can fly for a commercial airline, Grey will have approximately two years to wait for that magic moment.

At 21, he will get a restricted Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) certificate to work as a first officer, or co-pilot, for commercial airlines.

Until then, his plan is simple.

“I’m going to continue my training and become a flight instructor, which allows me to train other pilots, certify other pilots, until I can work for an airline,” he disclosed.

Blair, in the meantime, has no regrets about backing her boy.

“No regrets at all,” she said.

And she is over the moon.

“Words cannot explain how I feel. I always tell him that I’m his biggest cheerleader and whatever he puts his mind to, I know he can definitely achieve.”

“I remember when he was going to prep school he said he was going to go to high school in Kingston. It wasn’t an if, but, or maybe. I always knew he had greatness in him, so I just supported whatever dream he had.

“I had just bought a house [in Montego Bay] when he decided he wanted to come to school in Kingston. My neighbours were like, ‘Yuh really a guh lef’ yuh house fi falla bwoy dream?’

“But it has paid off, and not only for him because coming to this side (Kingston) opened up better opportunities for me, career-wise. So it’s a win-win for both of us.”

carl.gilchrist@gleanerjm.com