Are you the youngest pilot?

[Cathy Pierce]

There is a man in town who asked the question "What is the youngest age that anyone has flown an airplane by themselves?" He wants to know if we can beat that record with Lee.

While I'm not really crazy about the whole idea of Lee flying an airplane by himself before he is .... say 10 years old or possibly younger, it is probably out of my hands :roll:. Especially with him being so crazy about airplanes already at the age of 3.

So, how young were you when you first flew an airplane by yourself and what kind of airplane, or do you know of anyone that was really young?

 

[RaisedByWolves]

i first soloed on my 16 birthday in a cessna skyhawk


tom ford

 

[Ruidoso Ron]

Cathy,
A good friend of mine, who Steve knows as well, (but who shall go unnamed) soloed his son in a Super Cub at 11. I asked if he wasn't afraid of getting in trouble. "What are they going to do........take my CFI away?" He didn't have one. The boy, when he entered the Air Force Academy, had a single and multi-engine commercial, and instrument rating, and a DC-3 type rating! Poor kid was altered for life. Now, out of the Air Force, he flies an F-16 with the Reserves, and a 737 with a major airline. Altered for life!

 

[Cubus Maximus]

We have one nearby that soloed at age 9 in a J-3 at the farm. First flew in his father lap from about age 3-5. Was scared of the big airport because the runway was too wide! Another one that was altered for life.

 

[Dan2+2]

My brother Van soloed on his 4th birthday in 1972. His picture was on the front of a national flying magazine and in the local paper and tv. he did bounce on one of the three landings. I remember my mom was petrified.

 

[behindpropellers]

Sounds like Steve better get the supercub done.................like next week.

 

[Dan2+2]

Oh yeah I forgot to mention his birthday is Feb, 29. Leap year, so it WAS his 4th birthday but he was 16 years old.

 

[ak2711c]

I got my first lesson at 13. I was hooked. I worked and saved my money for two years so I could afford to get more instruction and eventually my license. My uncle soloed me at 15, I officially soloed on my 16th birthday before I had my drivers license. Got my pilots license on my 17th birthday. First lesson was in a 180 hp Super Cub, most of the rest was in a PA-11.
Shawn

 

[Cathy Pierce]

Oh yeah I forgot to mention his birthday is Feb, 29. Leap year, so it WAS his 4th birthday but he was 16 years old.

I am so glad that you clarified that! Steve was already looking at me like we had to get Lee in the air today and let him solo. Actually, they are out flying as I sit here typing this.

 

[CloudDancer]

Hiya Cathy -

Quite a few Alaskan kids soloed between the ages of ten and fifteen and in most cases didn't even know how to drive a car (but, of course were HELL on sno-gos).

Summa' their Dad's even had LICENSES too!!

When the munchkin's ready (for SURE).... turn the kid loose!!

CloudDancer

P.S. I do STRONGLY encourage getting a LICENSE though.

 

[cubscout]

Cathy, kids can Legally fly gliders at age 14. I have quite a few friends who did, now airline and Air Force Pilots. And a few who went solo at 14 in the last year.

And done right, glider flying requires some good flying discipline to get it right. Youngsters tend to get it right, and mature quite a bit the moment they go solo.

Sounds like you folks are doing things very right with youngsters, keep up the good work.

Please feel free to PM me for more details.

Thanks. cubscout

 

[Snert]

The youngest I know of was ten in a J-3 on skis. Now days if the Feds don't get you Child Protective Services will. The fun thing to do is not how young to solo but how many different airplanes on the sixteenth birthday. That was a very awkward sentence. You know what I mean.

 

[Tim]

Snert, I was thinking the same thing. A friend of mine soloed his grandson on his 16th birthday in a Taylorcraft, Mooney, and a Stearman. He had about 100
hours total. He flew another few hours, lost interest and never flew again. That was 10 years ago.

Tim

 

[redrooster]

Those who know me would agree that I'm not one to follow rules just cuz they're rules, but some rules have a good basis. Maybe a kid doesn't need to be quite 16 to be able to safely solo an airplane, but IMHO 9 or 10 is just too damn young. I wouldn't send a kid that age out by himself with a firearm for a day's sport, ditto for an airplane. Some kids that age can't even be trusted with a knife. Just not enough experience or maturity yet. And what if the engine quits or something-- pretending he's a transformer, an X-man, or Spongebob just ain't gonna cut it.
Cathy, when your kid is ready to solo-- great, go for it. But don't get caught up in this "setting a record" BS. Too much like the 3 most dangerous words in aviation ("hey,watch this"). Anybody else remember that young girl who was in the process of trying to set some "youngest cross-country kid" record a few years ago when she augered in? Made the news nation-wide. A damn shame, besides killing a kid it gave aviation a bit of a black eye IMHO.

Rooster

 

[aalexander]

Those who know me would agree that I'm not one to follow rules just cuz they're rules, but some rules have a good basis. Maybe a kid doesn't need to be quite 16 to be able to safely solo an airplane, but IMHO 9 or 10 is just too damn young. I wouldn't send a kid that age out by himself with a firearm for a day's sport, ditto for an airplane. Some kids that age can't even be trusted with a knife. similarJust not enough experience or maturity yet. And what if the engine quits or something-- pretending he's a transformer, an X-man, or Spongebob just ain't gonna cut it.
Cathy, when your kid is ready to solo-- great, go for it. But don't get caught up in this "setting a record" BS. Too much like the 3 most dangerous words in aviation ("hey,watch this"). Anybody else remember that young girl who was in the process of trying to set some "youngest cross-country kid" record a few years ago when she augered in? Made the news nation-wide. A damn shame, besides killing a kid it gave aviation a bit of a black eye IMHO.

Rooster

My sentiments exactly, and I also was thinking of Jessica Dubrovich as I read this. Nothing wrong with getting kids actively involved in aviation at a young age, quite the opposite it could* be a good thing. However, once you add the "my kid is going to be the youngest....." element, it becomes something very different, an exercise in vanity.


* I say "could" because it's a great activity that can build responsibility, maturity and confidence, provided that the kid is actually interested, and not doing it because a parent is pushing them. When I was instructing, my least favorite students were 2 young girls (not related) whose daddies thought they should be airline pilots. Then were a little too young and not interested. Then were completely unmotivated, wouldn't study, and were obviously just going through the motions. I doubt there was any tangible benefit from their involvement in aviation.

 

[Steve Pierce]

I know a lot of guys that had the privilege to grow up around airplanes. A lot of them were capable of or soloed way before their 16th birthday. Nobody is pushing anybody, but the question came up from one of our non-flying friends who knows how into airplanes Lee is. I can guarantee if he keeps his interest he will be able to solo before he is legal. He will probably have to wait until he is of age just so he does respect the rules. I don't care for the fanfare around a kid who is raised around airplanes and gets to fly everything under the sun. It is great, but the opportunity was already there. What gets my emotions are the kids that rise up from no aviation influence, get bitten by the airplane bug and learn to fly. I have been privileged enough to see this happen a few times.

 

[skagwaypilot]

At the Flying M (Reclaw) annual fly-in, Ed Vesley annually recognizes both the oldest and youngest Cub pilots who are PIC at the event. Ed tells me that there have been 17 year-old winners. Sounds like an opportunity for a 16 year-old to get a trophy.
My "Oldest Cub Pilot - 2005" hangs proudly next to my desk.

 

[aalexander]

Nobody is pushing anybody,

Steve, my observation about kids being pushed by their parents was more of an aside, not directed at Lee. It sounds like he doesn't need any pushing at all.

 

[Chuck-Fairfax]

I'm with you, Steve. Out of all the students I have had, my favorites were two high school boys who drove an old junker out to Leesburg VA to take lessons in my Cessna 172. We were the lowest cost operator. They made all their flying money by washing dishes at a crummy restaurant attached to a low-rent motel near their house. They literally would show up at the airport with a small pile of cash in their hands and say "We can fly this much." Those boys both got their Private licenses. No parent came to watch them even one time. They rented my 172 to go fishing at a strip right along the Potomac River almost in West Virginia, and if there was a little mud on the carpet, I never said a word.

The smallest of those two boys went on to be an F16 fighter pilot.
Chuck

 

[CloudDancer]

Now THAT is a DAMN good tale.

CD

 

[Steve Pierce]

aalexander, I know what you mean. I have seen several kids pushed into things and they usually rebel. Lee is definitely into airplanes, I just hope he stays that way and doesn't get tired of them when he gets older. Tabitha, my 12 year old, likes them and asks a lot of questions and loves to fly. Taylor, 10 yrs. old, likes to fly but isn't real interested in it. I try not to push it and just leave the door open. If they stick with it great, if not I hope they find something they are passionate about.