Life as a Teenage Pilot
It’s no real secret that coming across someone who is a pilot is a fairly rare occurrence, but when’s the last time you happened to meet a teenager who was a pilot?
If that answer is no, you are in the majority, and statistically, you are not likely to meet one soon either. As of 2021, the total number of certificated pilots in the United States under the age of 20 was just short of 6,000, with approximately another 19,000 student pilots in the same window. Comparing that to the approximately 330 million people across the nation, your chances of meeting one of these 25,000 people are just over 1 in 13,000.
However, speaking from experience, they are more common than one might think. Over the years, I have been fortunate enough to meet numerous younger people; who, like myself, have already started or even completed flight training and become a pilot. I have even met some of my closest friends through the younger community in aviation, and I am happy to say that it is also an ever-growing group.
That being said, the most common question I get asked when someone learns that I’m a private pilot at 17 is, “What does your life look like with flying?” That is a question I aim to answer today.
My life, overall, is fairly similar to that of the typical high school senior. I wake up way too early to go to school. I spend way too long procrastinating on my homework, and I hang out with my friends at every opportunity I get. The substantial difference is, I can call my friends and ask them to go flying with me. I can fly over my school and wave to my friends at practice. I can experience the world from thousands of feet above, and share that feeling with others, and that is something that is truly remarkable.
There are days when I’ve left school, and instead of going home, I’d head to the airport, and an hour after that, I’d be 100 miles away, visiting a town that I had never been to before. And only about an hour after that, I’d be making my approach back home while getting to watch the beautiful sunset.
There are days when I will call a friend of mine, and a few hours later, we’re flying to another state to grab lunch at the beach, attend a fly-in, or even just sightsee for a while.
Flying is a truly liberating feeling, unlike any other that I have ever experienced, and it is that feeling that has driven me for just over five years now and will continue to fuel me for decades to come.
I started flying at age 12, as soon as I was old enough to attend a camp where I got to fly, and after my first takeoff, I knew that was what my heart was set on. Today, I am 17 and am a private pilot, having soloed and earned my certificate at the youngest ages I could have legally, 16 and 17 respectively, and I am sharing this with you for a couple of reasons.
The first is that I am often asked how difficult it is to balance my academic life with my flying life. And while the answer to that is highly situational, the best and shortest answer is, very carefully. There are times when I have been sitting in school, but instead of using free time I have to knock out my math homework, I have had to use it instead to plan a cross country for a lesson I have coming later that week. Sometimes I have had to use it to study, especially when getting close to my checkride. I remember even sacrificing the two weeks I had for winter break in 2021 to study for my written exam. And while these circumstances aren’t always pleasant, it is a reality that you should be aware of, and be willing to face if you desire to get into aviation. It is absolutely possible to balance the two, and I stress that heavily, but it can be difficult at times. Remember, aviation is an incredibly rewarding endeavor; however, it is not one that is going to grant those rewards for free.
The second is to reinforce the notion that, where there is a will, there is a way. It is no secret that aviation is a difficult endeavor to embark upon, for many reasons. Everyone faces their own unique challenges when it comes to learning to fly, whether it be inside the plane, or out. However, I have also seen numerous instances of these difficulties being overcome, oftentimes in incredibly tremendous ways. And, ultimately, if you only take one thing away from these words, know this: aviation is for everyone, with no exceptions, and anyone who is passionate, dedicated, and willing to learn, will succeed.
Becoming a pilot is a journey, and it is one that I would happily go through 100 more times if it meant I could end up where I am today. It has allowed me to truly fall in love with these amazing machines, as well as the sky, and the beautiful place we call home, all while providing me with experiences that my friends who aren’t involved in aviation can only dream of. I simply can’t recommend getting into it enough, and I am so happy that flying and my love for it are a part of my soul.