11:30am Sunday 30th November 2008
By Bob Jolliffe
A DORSET teenager’s dreams of becoming a commercial pilot are taking off fast.
Days after his 16th birthday, Jack Kendall became the youngest trainee pilot to fly solo with Bournemouth Flying Club.
He was among four learner pilots to take their first flights from Bournemouth Airport without a confidence-boosting instructor sitting with them on Sunday, November 9.
Jack said: “I’ve always liked flying and Mum and Dad said, ‘If you really like it, would you like to make a career out of it?’.”
His answer to that was: “Yes please.”
So for his 15th birthday, parents Judith and Gary paid for some flying lessons at Bournemouth and Jack has been soaring ever since.
“It’s really fun and I really enjoy it and everyone there is very nice.
“You get such a thrill when you take off. Everything looks so small,” he said.
“I’ve got friends who said, ‘You must be mad to be going up there by yourself’.
“But it’s like when my mother passed her driving test, she said it gives you that ‘do anything, go anywhere’ feeling.”
Jack is well on his flight path for the future.
“I am hoping to become a commercial pilot after school and after uni; if I do uni,” he said.
His flying time is limited.
“It tends to be once a week on Sundays because that fits in quite nicely with school.
“But if the weather’s horrible you have to leave it a week.”
He flies a Piper Warrior aircraft.
“It’s quite a small rotor-driven aircraft. The inside’s about the size of a car with two seats in the front and two seats in the back.”
Martin Cruze of Bournemouth Flying Club said: “It was a very eventful day especially as four ‘first solo’ flights were conducted.
“The first solo is a major event to anyone who is training towards a pilots’ licence. I have worked in aviation for around 12 years and certainly haven’t witnessed this kind of event before.
“It was quite an event for young Jack, having just turned 16 – not old enough to drive a car.”
The three others to fly a first solo that day were Brian Ellsmore, Jean Henry and Neil Sharman.
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