Emilio's desire to become an aviator started early in life. When he was only 11 or 12 years old, he would visit the newly established School of Military Aviation of Mexico, in Balbuena. The school's first director was Major Alberto Salinas Carranza, Emilio's uncle.

Mr. Juan Guillermo Villasana, an engineer, a distinguished professor at the school of aviation, and Emilio's biographer relates that during these frequent visits, the young Emilio would ask the pilots and mechanics questions about the airplanes in the hangar. He would then climb on some of the airplanes in the assembly line to simulate his "flights".

Soon thereafter, he was sent to San Antonio, Texas to continue his studies. But his interest in aviation never waned. He would return to the School of Military Aviation of Mexico as a cadet in 1923.