For most pilots, their first commercial flight is a milestone. For Endeavor First Officer Landon Van Heel, it meant sharing the flight deck with his dad.

Landon recently flew his first Endeavor trip alongside his father, Endeavor Captain Eric Van Heel. It was a moment years in the making and one they’ll never forget.

“It’s probably going to be one of the peak moments, if not the peak moment as an airline pilot,” Landon said. “I’m only 22, so this is going to be hard to beat in the next 43 years of my career.”

“We know it’s serious business, and we were able to turn that switch,” Eric said. “When we were flying, I’m the Captain and I was the instructor, and Landon was the First Officer and he was learning.”

The transition from father and son to Captain and First Officer came naturally in the flight deck.

The flight wasn’t their first time sharing the flight deck. Years earlier, when Landon was building flight time, the two took a flight from Lakeville, Minn., to Lincoln, Neb.

Landon’s interest in aviation also played an unexpected role in bringing his father back to the industry just a few years ago.

After graduating from the University of North Dakota, Eric flew commercially for about a decade before changing careers due to financial realities in the industry. Years later, as Landon toured flight schools, Eric’s interest in aviation was reignited.

“One of the schools said, ‘You should go back to flying,’” Eric said. “I was like, they wouldn’t have me. I hadn’t flown in almost 16 years.”

Three weeks later, Eric was sitting in ground school at Endeavor.

Together, Eric’s and Landon’s journeys created an opportunity neither had expected: flying together professionally.

For Eric, watching Landon begin his career at Endeavor was an emotional milestone. Before the flight, he marked the occasion with a special announcement introducing his son as the VIP First Officer joining him in the flight deck.

It was a memory made together at 30,000 feet.