Ens. Reach described a life-long interest in flying, inspired by several family members who served in the Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force. He described a flight in an F/A-18F in 2010 as "by far the highlight of my time at Harvard." He flew with Joe Gano in October 2011 and described his flight in the MiG-21 as "simply exhilarating … its sheer power was amazing." Of his flight in Joe’s Czech L-39 Albatross he said, "Although we were in the air for close to an hour, by the time we landed it seemed as though only fifteen minutes had passed."