Burns High grad Keaton Molt is flying high News February 15, 2023February 15, 20230 Submitted photos Keaton Molt’s career as a pilot has taken him all over the world. Keaton Molt, who graduated from Burns High School in 2008, shares what it’s like to be a pilot. Molt’s job includes flying dignitaries, like actor Ben Stiller (left). by Keaton Molt for Burns Times-Herald After graduating from Burns High School, I attended Silverhawk Aviation Academy in Caldwell, Idaho for professional helicopter pilot training. After receiving my commercial license and certified flight instructor ratings, I got a job in Southern California as a flight instructor teaching people to fly helicopters in the nation’s most complex airspace. My career has taken me all over the world on all sorts of crazy adventures — from the third-world country of Haiti in the Caribbean to the most northern point in the United States, Barrow, Ala. After Alaska, I moved back to Twin Falls, Idaho to work for Reeder Flying Service doing wildfire suppression contracts for the Bureau of Land Management and United States Forest Service. I also fly precision long line operations, oil and gas pipeline patrol, aerial reseeding application, wildlife surveys and game count, Idaho Power powerline patrol, predator control and eradication, and scenic flights of the Snake River Canyon. My job includes flying dignitaries such as Idaho Gov. Brad Little and actor Ben Stiller. I recently was promoted to second seat in Reader’s Flying Service black hawk helicopter. Burns is still “home,” and I continue to be involved in the family’s farming operation. I come home frequently to help put up hay in the summer. I also fly fixed wing aircraft. My favorite is my grandfather’s 1950 Aeronca Sedan. Granddad is gone now, but I keep his photo in the plane as my guardian angel.