Growing up in Germany I flew gliders at 13, first solo at 14 or 15 I think. Didn't think much of it and neither did my friends. We also drove cars around the airfield.
Back awhile, when flying was nowhere near as expensive as it is now, my father earned his PPL when he was fourteen. (My grandfather was a pilot, with a plane and an instructor rating, so I guess it was technically "free".) Then he saved his money, and bought his own plane when he was sixteen - before, in fact, he had either a driver's license or a car.
The punchline is that his (boarding) high school ONLY allowed senior (fourth-year) students to keep cars, but their rule neglected to mention airplanes, so he took great satisfaction flying his Luscombe out of the strip next to the school his whole junior (third) year. It was cheaper to fly home - or fly his girlfriend, later my mother, home - for the weekend than it would have been to drive.
Max Verstappen almost completed his first Formula 1 season without a license to drive on open roads. Antonelli, the new World Champion, got his license a few weeks before his debut in 2025.
money and plenty of it bieng spent as literal tickets into another more privilaged world, and if they make the cut, then money well spent, as it takes real focus.
The drop out rate after getting a ppl is huge though, as funding a private aircraft is real money for most people all the way up, and managing the minimum time required is another significant hurdle.
Kind of like horses, all in, or everything else.
To be honest I don't want a teen flying me around.
The Florida lady pilot did nothing wrong per se in terms of piloting, but if she was a bit older she might have had the sense or the guts to stand up to the other pilot and the passengers and refuse to fly a route that would take them so close to multiple storms.
The age doesn’t matter. Older captain of the ship left the port during storm, ships collided: https://www.bairdmaritime.com/amp/story/passenger/cruise/mei... The problem is that the commercial operators must perform on schedule and storms ignore that schedule. And bean counters do not have left any reserve hours. Machinery can’t stand still! It must generate profit.
Growing up in Germany I flew gliders at 13, first solo at 14 or 15 I think. Didn't think much of it and neither did my friends. We also drove cars around the airfield.
Back awhile, when flying was nowhere near as expensive as it is now, my father earned his PPL when he was fourteen. (My grandfather was a pilot, with a plane and an instructor rating, so I guess it was technically "free".) Then he saved his money, and bought his own plane when he was sixteen - before, in fact, he had either a driver's license or a car.
The punchline is that his (boarding) high school ONLY allowed senior (fourth-year) students to keep cars, but their rule neglected to mention airplanes, so he took great satisfaction flying his Luscombe out of the strip next to the school his whole junior (third) year. It was cheaper to fly home - or fly his girlfriend, later my mother, home - for the weekend than it would have been to drive.
That was his story, anyway.
https://www.wsj.com/business/airlines/they-can-barely-drive-...
Max Verstappen almost completed his first Formula 1 season without a license to drive on open roads. Antonelli, the new World Champion, got his license a few weeks before his debut in 2025.
money and plenty of it bieng spent as literal tickets into another more privilaged world, and if they make the cut, then money well spent, as it takes real focus. The drop out rate after getting a ppl is huge though, as funding a private aircraft is real money for most people all the way up, and managing the minimum time required is another significant hurdle. Kind of like horses, all in, or everything else.
My son is working on his private license. Teens are quite capable to rise to the challenge.
To be honest I don't want a teen flying me around.
The Florida lady pilot did nothing wrong per se in terms of piloting, but if she was a bit older she might have had the sense or the guts to stand up to the other pilot and the passengers and refuse to fly a route that would take them so close to multiple storms.
The age doesn’t matter. Older captain of the ship left the port during storm, ships collided: https://www.bairdmaritime.com/amp/story/passenger/cruise/mei... The problem is that the commercial operators must perform on schedule and storms ignore that schedule. And bean counters do not have left any reserve hours. Machinery can’t stand still! It must generate profit.