Young Private Pilots
 

Hi all, I started flying when I was 15 years old (2 years ago) It is a dream of mine to become an Airline Pilot in the future. I had to stop my flying in November due to financial restraints, I had no financial help from family or sponsors, ect. I went out and got a job to fund my way through hour by hour, now two years on, I am 17 and I have saved enough money to pay for the whole PPL contract with my Aero CLub, I start flyin with no finance to worry about in July, can't wait, I will have my PPL before I get my driving license!!!

Just a query if anyone is or has been in the same plane as me when it comes to flying at a very young age? please share you experience with me.

I have always said, "Lifes not a dress rehersal" so if theres something you want, go for it, and that is exactly what I did, at the grand young age of 15!!!

Good stuff... perfect time to start learning, you should be able to blast through the ppl quite quickly with the right weather.

I did it at 16/17 too, and I wasn't treated any differently to anyone else + I was already in exam mode so the revision was fairly easy! Just act maturely and do what your told.

Good luck.

Enjoy enjoy enjoy.
 

St Helier,

Good luck matey and really enjoy your training, best thing is to try and learn as much as you can, when you do have your PPL for the first six months go back up with an instructor or hit the circuit just to make sure you are still perfoming well and not getting to c0cky.

I started flying when i was 14 with the air cadets and got my PPL when i was 19, I now fly for Thomson and love it, dont get me wrong it wasnt easy and it is so much more expensive that you think you know. Plus there were times that i couldnt get a job.

Be real about it but keep your dream in sight at all times.

Good luck enjoy and maybe see you in the flight deck.

259:cool:

I had my first flying lesson at the grand old age of my 16th birthday:} . It was a birthday pressie. i had many sleepless nights up to the flight. However it was the scariest thing ive ever done yet the most fun...:ugh:

Not only was i pilot in command but i was asked to take off, that wasn't to bad. However i was signed up for a aerobatic lesson, done loads of loops, stalls, barrel rolls ect but i loved it. (done it in a C152 aerobat BTW)

After that i knew there was no other career for me, been working for it since and i'll have my PPL and night rating mid august hopefully.

best of luck with it! defo try a aerobatic flight if you can!!! ;)

I was in the same position flying before driving it was awesome fun. Experiences being the youngest club member and being one of the shortest first solo and also passing in only 45hrs15. I took 5 months and some awesome flights starting at 16 finishing week after 17th birthday due to a skills test being cancelled. Also managed to hitch loads of free rides in aicraft and still do. Also great fun now I am driving and have a etst booked the test seems such a doddle to the skills test. Oh and driving is soo much easier than flying anyway.
David :}

The fact that I could solo a warrior before I got my drivers license/learners permit was awesome! :p I solo'd a week after my 16th birthday and got my license a day after my 17th birthday... It was great!! :) Good luck with your training dude!

StH;
There's quite a few of us who have a similar story.

I first soloed at 16, and had my PPL at 17. I could fly across the country and even abroad before I had my driving license.
I'm 21 now, and oddly enough just this week flew from South Wales to your home airfield; Jersey. Night stopped in St Clement actually.

I was trying to think back to any pitfalls or traps I had related to my age at the time. To be honest, I don't think there were many but I do have a few bits of advice.

Try to be reasonably assertive without coming off as arrogant or brash. I remember at 17 dealing with a couple of people in the aviation world who would make assumptions based on your age. Often they were just trying to be helpful but occasionally I felt as if I wasn't being taken seriously. To be fair it was nothing major, but I do remember doing a solo landaway to one airfield, walking into the club house and being asked in a rather condescending manner if I was hanging around for a trial flight. When I said I had flown in, I was asked who the pilot was!

I think a lot of it was to do with it being the first time I was in a situation where I had real responsibility. Don't be afraid to speak up and, if necessary, put your foot down at times.

The other thing I found, and it might be a bit of a broad stroke, was that when I was younger there was more of a tendency to rush things. Not out of any shoddy practice, but perhaps just a little youthful exuberance. Try to slow down, take your time. Enjoy what it is you're doing.

I also found it best to be relatively passive in many situations and soak up as much advice from others as possible. I learnt a lot of very useful tips from just listening to the experiences of those around me.

All in all though, I had a cracking time. I think us younger fliers have a head-start on the old and wrinklies; Our years of computer gaming give us miles on hand eye coordination, reactions and fiddling around with things like GPS's!

Best of luck, and do keep us posted!

So true!! I'm trying to get rid of my habit of rushing things but damn its hard :p!

lol.. I had a similar experience. I flew into Bedford ( near Boston, US ) for my first solo XC. Bedford is a busy airport with lotsa security measures after 9/11. After I was done using the services at the FBO there, the security guy stopped me on my way to the plane and said "Hey, who are you.. How'd you get into the airport premises? Where's your ID".. When I told him I was the pilot, he asked me those questions again with a rude stare. Really sucks how they dont believe you..

hey mate, did my ppl in new zealand solo at 16th birthday got ppl at 17, converted back to an Australian PPL, got Csu RG, ME rating 185 hours nearly ready for my CPL when i turn 18. AND IM STILL AT SCHOOl :O its a wild world aint it hahah.

Alex

Hey, Im in the same picture, began flying at the age of 14, got my 1st solo on my 18th birthday, (ran out of money). Got back on track, and finished my licence before I turned 19. Loved every minute of it, got 200 hours now, just turned 22 and loving every minute of it, just trying to fly different types of aircraft now.

Andrew

I got my PPL at 17 (with one week to spare!), and although I don't have the money to take full advantage of it (at the moment I'm just taking the odd cost-sharing passanger up for a quick local) I'm loving it! I reckon that people are much more impressed if you get your PPL when you're still at school, which is quite fun; I got a mention in a school assembly a few weeks after passing the skills test, which certainly woke me up from my usual Monday morning day-dreaming!

Oh, and yesterday I had a (half) lesson on the club's new Robin DR400 Ecoflyer. We never actully got off the ground due to approaching storms, but the excitement of being in a new aircraft (just 49 hours on the clock, which felt weird) with a built-in moving map and a shiny new cockpit was massive. I would certainly suggest trying a variety of aircraft as soon as possible.

Enjoy yourself,

Proctor

Good luck to you all! I'm slightly jealous as I didn't really get to fly much or get my PPL until I was in my early 20's though I started at 14. The world really is your oyster, and starting a career in aviation at such a young age gives you huge potential to succeed! Don't worry about the occasional views of some with regard to the "you can't be a pilot" look of disbelief. I get that even now and I'm in my 40's! I don't tend to try and "look" like a pilot and as I'm fairly unimposing in stature and character, I usually get "are you looking for the toilets?" or "have you come for a trail flight?" :rolleyes: Try not to be arrogant though, or assume that you are a "better" pilot than the next person, as that will at best loose you friends, and at worst, place you in danger. It's easy to become complacent as you feel naturally more confident about your abilities at a young age ... you become more aware of your limitations and vulnerability as you get older. That said, don’t forget just what a privilege it is to be able to fly, and do continue to have FUN! In other words, don’t just let the flying become the “day job”. I’ve met ATPL’s who never fly light aircraft, moan about aircraft noise and have no doubt lost the ability to ENJOY flying. Then there are others such as Foxmoth who apart from busy careers flying airliners, also fly anything they can get their hands on, just for the fun of it!

Once again, good luck and enjoy!

SS

hi I am 18 in July and will have had my PPL a year. I went solo at 16 and qualifyed before my 17th birthday, just had to wait for my licence to be issued. Its a great feeling of success, one that you will find many won't believe you. I too got my licence before i even started to drive which was an acheivement in itself and a possible loop hole it seems in the law system, but worked to my, and our benifit it seems. Congratulations on funding it yourself! that is very impressive, i myself did not, i am going into NATS and so had no need for university, therefore the money that was for university was invested elsewhere. Even though there wasnt enough for uni anyway, barely enough for a PPL and it wasnt all payed up front. I had to do hour by hour also, and got a little job in which i contributed half with my parents. I passed in 45 hours, which although good financially i still believe there is sooo much in a never ending process to be learnt. I have managed to get up to 62 hours now, which isnt bad. Although this is possible due to contributions made by fellow passengers that i have taken flying. tip... ask for contributions when you pass and take people flying. You're not allowed to ask for more than equal share, so for instance if there is 2 of you, you must pay at least 50%, if there is 4 you must pay at least 25%.
Well done again!! Fantastic achievement!!!

Getting a pilot's licence at a young age is a pretty awesome thing to do. It gives you a lot of confidence. I got my licence last August, just after turning 17, having started 9 months before.

I agree with what other people have said about listening and taking adivce from others around you.

Having a pilot's licence while still at school is pretty cool, your name will quickly become well known! I do love the part of the law that says you can fly solo before you're even allowed to start learning to drive.

Good luck with it, fly safe.

GWidgery

Hi everyone,

Thank you all very much for all your advice, I couldnt do without it!!

I think to myself now, "wow, im about to get something that will open so many doors to me" and its absolutley hoofing!!

Your posts are very much abliged, and thank you once again, I will be sure to keep you posted on the progress.

Thank you once again

Regards

St. Helier

Young people here. Good on you for flying at a young age but what I want to know is, how does a 15/16/17yr old afford a ppl?

At that age you are not even in a decent paid job.

Even a saturday job or a paper round offers peanuts, must be some paper round you must do to be able to afford lessons especially if you are still at school.

Where do you get your money from?

If their parents have enough spare cash to sponsor them, then good on em! Must be a pretty good investment as investments in your kids go? I wish mine had that kind of dosh ... but back then few did, and loans ect were not as easily had!

SS

Funding
 

I'm going to be doing my PPL training this summer (and probably winter!:)).

I've got £4000 saved for it.
I'm also getting a £3000 loan (thanks to my parents) but paid for by ME
I'll also earn loads of dosh while training - hopefully another £1000

I think that will be sufficient.

I'm 17 - and no money given directly from mum or dad. (Just some forms to sign, a bed to sleep in, good food and support when things go bad:O!)

don't_ask

Holy smokes didnt know there were that many of us as I dont see that many ppl my age flying. As for money mum's mum's house sold and me and sister got 5k each she brought a car I did a pilots license and the deal was I pay for license you pay everything afterwards so now i work about 200yrds from the entrance at a karting circuit still see all the awesome stuff doing fly bys but get paid to sit and watch:} and almost all my wages travel the short distance to my flying account.
david

I thought I'd might as well add my name to the list, now 18, started flying when I was 17 and it is great. Probably will be solo in the next month or so.

I am too surprised at the amount of young people who actually do the PPL, much more than I thought. However the standard of flying probably does differ in the "under 20" category.

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