Three years ago, a Richland High School student took an introductory flight with Bergstrom Aircraft Inc. in Pasco. Now, she can’t imagine doing anything else with her life – and after almost two years of training and 300 hours in the sky, the feeling of taking off from the ground still amazes her.

Eden Welch, 18, of Richland, hasn’t had the same high school experience as most seniors. While taking online classes through Columbia Basin College’s Running Start program, she’s also spending time on airplanes, studying for her commercial pilot’s license and working in customer service at Bergstrom Aircraft. 

Her love for flying started with an introductory flight in December 2023, an hourlong session in which she got to man the controls while in the air with an instructor. But Welch said the seeds of flight were planted well before that moment.

As a child, her dad had an airplane and would fly the family to the San Juan Islands in the summers. He sold the plane when she was still young, but later on, Welch began to get into the show “Air Disasters.” That’s when her parents booked her for the introductory flight.

After that, it took a few months of careful thought before deciding to go all-in on training.

Taking off

Welch started training for her pilot’s license in September 2024. Since then, she’s logged more than 300 hours of flight time, received her private pilot’s license, and earned her instrument rating – all before graduating high school.

Bergstrom Aircraft offers Part 61 flight school, which means students can learn at their own pace.

Welch started out in ground school, learning the basic knowledge needed for flying. She would fly up about two times a week and begin learning maneuvers, as well as working on landings.

After the landings looked solid, Welch said she got the go-ahead to take her first solo flight. “That’s probably one of my best memories ever, going solo for the first time,” she said. “That feeling was just, I mean, it was terrifying, but it was cool.”

After that came learning to do cross-country flights, which are more than 50 miles from the airport the plane took off from, and a final test of knowledge both on the ground and in the air.

That earned her a private pilot’s license in July 2025, but her training didn’t stop there. 

Preparing for her instrument rating included flying in “foggles,” goggles meant to limit vision to the instrument panel alone, simulating a cloudy environment when pilots can’t see anything outside of the plane. This training taught Welch how to fly based on instrument readings alone. 

Now, Welch is working steadily toward her commercial pilot license, as well as her certified flight instructor, or CFI, certification.

Though she’s close to wrapping up her training, it will still be a long time before she’s able to fly for a commercial airline. Doing that requires being 23 years old and logging 1,500 hours of flight time.

Most people get those hours by doing survey flights or small charter flights, or by instructing – which is Welch’s plan.

She hopes to teach full time, ideally locally, and keep gaining experience. Already, she’s enjoyed giving her friends a taste of what her first flight looked like. 

“When I’m an instructor, I’m looking forward to being able to share that and to be able to help other people get there, and see students pass their check rides and reach their goals and all that,” she said.  

Eden Welch typically spends three to five hours a week flying, while studying aviation around three hours a day and working a customer service job at Bergstrom Aircraft – on top of taking online courses through Columbia Basin College. 

| Courtesy Grace Funk Photos

Aviation community

Taking online classes through CBC instead of sitting in a classroom each day has enabled her to spend the time she needs on her flight studies. Typically, she flies three to five hours a week, and she studies three hours each day depending on her schedule. That’s on top of her job at Bergstrom.

Welch said that she’s always had stronger friends outside of school, so she hasn’t missed much about the traditional high school experience. 

“I really wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” she said. “… I get to do what I love … I just don’t see how I could be missing out. I get to go fly airplanes.”

Through her flight training and involvement at Bergstrom, she’s been able to tap into the aviation community, finding friends, instructors and mentors to push her and plenty of offers to help out. 

“The community in aviation is just so strong,” she said. “And I know that I definitely wouldn’t be able to be where I am without that.”

While training to become a pilot is pricey, Welch has been able to cover the cost with the money her parents saved for college.

“The hope is that I can finish my training with just that,” she said. “I’ve definitely been very fortunate to have parents that have had a college fund set up for me.”

Because of the cost, she hasn’t taken many flights that aren’t part of her training. But one of her more fun experiences was a flight she recently took to Prosser. Two other planes flew in at the same time as her, and they all parked their planes and walked to a nearby taco restaurant. “That kind of stuff I love doing, because it’s like just the general aviation side of it, rather than the professional side of it, which I love,” she said. “I think it’s fun to just be able to use the license that you have.”

To those who are interested in flying but aren’t sure how to get into it, Welch’s advice is to take an introductory flight and try it out, “no strings attached.”

“You can go up, see if you like it, and if you hate it, then there’s your answer. And if you love it, then pursue it, go after it. … If you get bit by the flying bug, you have to fly,” she said.  

And for those who do choose to fly: “Get involved, ask questions, definitely stay humble,” Welch said, “because if you don’t, aviation will definitely humble you.”