Aerbabe,
You are most DEFINITELY not an old fart!! because if you are, what does that make me?
Stephen,
Welcome to PPRune, and don't be nervous; we're a nice bunch on the whole. There are a few people around who've soloed on their 16th birthday and got their licence on their 17th; they turn up in the relevant local papers and flying mags now and then. But not a lot; you'll definitely be one of an elite.
Good luck.
I too wish I could have learned to fly earlier. But does it really matter? If I'd learned to fly when I was 16, what would I do now at weekends? Fly? Having learned to fly at...ahem, a much greater age
...what do I do now at weekends? Fly? It's no different, and I don't feel any different...though I may look it.
Actually if I'd learned to fly at 16 I might well be bored with it and off doing something totally different by now I suppose.