Instructor Spotlight: Blake Freedland

Tell us about yourself and what inspired you to teach this course

I have been flying planes since I was 16 and absolutely love it! I was lucky enough to have great mentors and I always wanted to pass on my knowledge as well. I had an aviation club in high school and that was a great way to spread the passion and meet others with the same interests. My mentors taught me how important aeronautical decision making (ADM) is and that has been a core part of my flying. Being a psychology student at Tufts, I thought teaching a class about decision making, maintaining a level head during pressure, and overcoming fear in the cockpit/cabin would combine what my mentors have taught me with my major and my passion perfectly! At its core, I would be thrilled to teach any aviation-related class at Tufts, but it is extra cool that I am able to use the knowledge from my major to create a curriculum.

You have your pilot’s license. Tell us about what drew you to flying and the process of acquiring your license

I have ALWAYS had a super strong draw towards aviation. I remember only wanting to play with plane toys when I was just a toddler. I even used to buy Lego kits just to build the pieces into airplanes. This has not changed. I STILL have model planes in my room that I do indeed play with from time to time (yes, I know I am 22 years old, and no, my girlfriend does not judge me). Flying was always something I knew I would do. I was finally able to convince my parents to let me take flying lessons during my freshman year of high school (after asking since elementary school). At 15, I took my first flight (known as a discovery flight) and it remains the best day of my life. After that, I officially enrolled in flight school, partaking in “141” operations. I was put through 3 flying tests, 3 ground tests, a paper knowledge test (in a government surveilled classroom), a pre-solo test, my first solo flight, and finally, the check ride, all just to get the first license, known as the “private pilot’s license.” This all takes place, of course, after a doctor medically certifies you to fly. My process was a bit longer than average since I had to wait until 17 to legally get my pilot’s license. This is all doable within a summer if you study and do the work.

Can you give an example of a particularly challenging situation you faced while flying and how you overcame it with psychology or psychological techniques?

Last summer, I was flying back to Fort Lauderdale from the Florida Keys at night. On the way back, air traffic control guided me up the east coast of Florida, at low altitudes, over the water, with other planes near the vicinity. In addition, I had three people on board and there were thunderstorms forming to the east. It was an “everything at once” kind of situation. It was very difficult to keep the plane just close enough to shore where I was complying with air traffic control, but not putting the plane out of glide range for land, keeping an eye on the other planes, keeping the plane steady through the turbulence, and working with some of the systems in the plane to prepare for landing. At the beginning of it, I felt a bit overwhelmed. I practiced square breathing, used the art of “compartmentalization” and mitigated unnecessary tasks. Many psychological phenomena that pilots face are trained habits, but my job is to teach those habits, how they work, and how to practice them.

What is the coolest place or landmark you’ve ever flown over, and why?

This is the toughest question yet! My favorite place to fly is the Florida Keys! The water there is so blue and I always see sharks, dolphins, manatees, turtles, rays, and even crocodiles each time I do it. But, I think the coolest place I have flown over has to be Tufts, and I took a picture of my dorm from the sky.

What do you hope that students will take away from your course?

This class is three things: a class to fulfill academic curiosity, a class to introduce the applications of psychology, and a class to hopefully learn something that can be used in real life. I am not saying my students will go on to become pilots, but rather, think like a pilot! As I have mentioned, I was extremely fortunate to have multiple mentors in my life, and yes, they helped me to succeed as a pilot, but those same lessons helped me in sports, my social life, and the classroom. These include organizing your thoughts, doing things the right way the first time, focusing on the task at hand, responsibility, and my favorite, treating drawbacks in life as “turbulence.” Just fly through it! This is true in the cockpit, and it is true anywhere else. That lesson stuck with me the most, and I hope to convey that thinking to my students.

What is something coming up in your course that you are excited about?

I am super excited for my guest speakers! I have emulated many things from Professor Derby’s Marketing and Sales class in my syllabus and he often brings in guest lecturers. We already had one last week, Jonathan Hoffman, a psychologist with a couple of practices in South Florida. Next, I am bringing an American Airlines captain, Byron Jaffe, to talk about aeronautical decision making, and then a retired US Navy F-18 pilot, Matthew “Whiz” Buckley, to talk about compartmentalization, grace under pressure, and mental health. I am beyond excited to host them!

Blake Freedland (he/him/his) is from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He is majoring in Psychology and minoring in Entrepreneurship. He is part of Zeta Beta Tau, and served on TCU Senate last semester.