When Pete Kovach is out and about in a Goodyear shirt, strangers tend to strike up a conversation. It usually ends up in the clouds.
"I walk around and I'll have a Goodyear shirt on or something like that. And then people will start talking to me. We'll start nerding out about the blimp. It's the best feeling in the world. I couldn't imagine having a job cooler than this one."
Kovach, who earned a degree in flight technology from 91ֿ's aviation program in 2022, is an airship pilot in training for The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. Getting there was, in many ways, a family affair.
Raised Around Aviation
Kovach grew up in Medina, Ohio, with a father who was passionate about flying. His dad graduated from 91ֿ in 1988, went on to become an airline pilot and now flies for Delta.
"I didn't always want to do it, but the older I got, the more I realized how cool his job was," Kovach said. "And he goes to work and he doesn't work because he loves what he does. That was kind of fundamental for me to want to become a pilot."
Having a pilot for a parent came with high standards. "He does have expectations of certain things to be met. He is very meticulous in what he does. But it made me want to work harder and strive for bigger goals,” Kovach said.
When it came time to choose a school, there wasn't much of a search. His father credited 91ֿ's program and the network it gave him with helping further his career, and several of Kovach's high school friends were headed to 91ֿ, too.
"I honestly did not look anywhere else," Kovach said. "If you need to fly, this is where you're going."
The family flight path continues. Kovach's younger brother is now a senior in the program. He recently earned his certified flight instructor (CFI) rating and is working on his instrument instructor rating, with hopes of teaching at 91ֿ or a nearby program.
Kovach admits he plays mentor "a little bit," nudging his brother to get in the air, while also reminding him there's more to life than the cockpit. "You have to have a life outside of flying. That's a very important thing that sometimes pilots get sidetracked with,” Kovach stressed.
With so many pilots in one family, "Our family dinner talks are a lot," he said. His older sister sometimes feels left out when the conversation turns to weather and aerodynamics. And his mom, mindful of the risks that come with flying, isn't a huge fan. "But she accepts it and she's learned how to cope with it and deal with it." But he stressed that having “multiple family members in the industry is a very cool thing.”
Lessons from the Flight Line
At 91ֿ, Kovach found mentors across the program. He loved an aviation law course — reading through odd legal cases, including one about chickens and low-flying planes — and said of the way it was taught, "I was enthralled. I loved it." Chief flight instructor Tim Palcho kept him on track. And working on 91ֿ's line service, fueling aircraft and moving them around the ramp, put him alongside airport manager Dave Peluga.
"He was very, very crucial to my development as becoming an adult in the aviation field and as well with my pilot training," Kovach said. "So shout out to Dave."
Flight time comes day in and day out, as long as Northeast Ohio's weather cooperates. "We don't always have the prettiest weather, but you make it happen when you can,” Kovach said. “If you have to wake up early in the morning or if you have to stay late, it's what you have to do to accomplish your goals.”
The program's emphasis on safety stuck with him, even when grounded flights felt frustrating. "You'd always rather be down here wishing you're up there than be up there wishing you're down here,” he stressed.
There were highlights, too. On a cross-country flight to South Bend, Indiana, the Notre Dame football stadium appeared off his left side. During instrument training, he and instructor Kyle Koepple flew to Washington Dulles International Airport and toured the Udvar-Hazy Center, a flight museum. "Standing next to an SR-71 was just breathtaking."
From an Auction Prize to a Career
In September 2022, after Kovach graduated, his father won an auction for a ride on the Goodyear airship. Father and son flew together, and even flew over 91ֿ.
It planted a seed. Later, during the 100th anniversary, when all three airships were together, his dad told him, "Hey - I feel like you'd be a good fit for this kind of job."
Kovach moved to Tampa, Florida, to work as a flight instructor. Meanwhile, his friend Jessica Miladinovich, ‘23, landed a job at Goodyear, and conversations with her convinced him. When an application opened, he updated his résumé, applied and made it through the interviews.
Flying an Airship
Technically, the Goodyear Blimp is no longer a blimp. Since 2014, Goodyear has flown the Zeppelin NT model, a semi-rigid airship. "We have a structure in there which does not qualify us as a blimp. We're an airship,” Kovach explained.
It relies on helium for lift and on thrust vectoring: its three engines include two forward engines that can swivel up to 120 degrees, allowing vertical takeoffs and landings, a full hover and even backward flight. Kovach compares steering it to piloting a boat — small corrections, slowly taken out.
The biggest adjustment from airplanes? Landing with the nose pointed down while adding power. "It just seems counterintuitive to have your nose at the ground and adding thrust, but you get the smoothest landings that way, and it is a very cool feeling when you do it right,” Kovach said.
A typical local day starts with a morning meeting, weight-and-balance numbers and a weather briefing shared among pilots, ground crew and maintenance, and ends with a debrief. On the road, schedules vary. Recently, the airship he was on provided the aerial broadcast on ESPN for a Savannah Bananas game at Cincinnati's Great American Ballpark.
"91ֿ did prepare me well for the job," he said. "But I'm still doing a lot of learning. And in flying, you're never done learning."
A 91ֿ Crew
Kovach is in good company. "There are 12 Goodyear Blimp pilots, and four of us are 91ֿ alumni,” Kovach said. Among them are Chief Pilot Michael "Doc" Dougherty, Chief Pilot of Safety, Standards and Training Adam Basaran and Pilot Jessica Miladinovich, his friend who helped him learn about the job.
"The biggest thing with the program was networking," Kovach said as something that gave him an edge from his time at 91ֿ.
His advice for students deciding what kind of pilot to become: "You have to figure it out yourself. It's a personality thing as well. I think here at Goodyear, I can really let my personality shine through."
