student pilot age requirement

hattrick

hattrick

Well-Known Member
hey i had a kid come in today looking to train for his private pilot. we were supposed to go on an intro flight but turns out he had just turned 13. now i know that in order to solo you need to be 16 and in order to get your private you must be 17 but ive never run into a 13 year old. i dont think it would be practical for him to start now but is there something that says you cant fly and log it until 14. a colleague says there is but i havent seen it. if anyone knows or has dealt with this it be great
 
Your colleague is full of it.

Kids can start flying at any age. Like you said, no solo until 16, no private until 17.

At my first instructing job, I had a couple of kids who were around that age (12-14) who's parents brought them in regularly to fly. They were smart kids, and as much as possible, I treated them like any other student... except maybe taking more time to explain certain things. They were great! They always asked good questions, were very excited, and whenever I told them to go home and read something before the next flight, they always had done it, and then some! I couldn't say the same thing about MOST of my older students, which is sad.

My advice would be to even pay special attention to them. You have no idea how big of a role model you are to them as their flight instructor. Your attitude and mentoring will play a huge role in their lives as they keep flying with you and eventually choose whether to fly for a career, or not.
 
I have no clue on the regualtion but did find this.

http://www.faa.gov/avr/afs/pilotfaq.cfm#faq

"Q. Am I eligible for a student pilot’s certificate?


A. You are eligible if--

You are at least 16 years old. If you plan to pilot a glider or balloon, you must be at least 14 years old.
You can read, speak, and understand English."
 
[ QUOTE ]
I have no clue on the regualtion but did find this.

http://www.faa.gov/avr/afs/pilotfaq.cfm#faq

"Q. Am I eligible for a student pilot’s certificate?


A. You are eligible if--

You are at least 16 years old. If you plan to pilot a glider or balloon, you must be at least 14 years old.
You can read, speak, and understand English."

[/ QUOTE ]

I got my student pilot certificate/medical when I was 15. My AME just put "not valid until 16th birthday."
 
ESF is dead on:

I started flying regularly at thirteen and haven't stopped for eight years. Although I have chosen a non-aviation career (for now, at least), flight training had a huge part in developing who I am today. My CFIs instilled patience and professionalism, enabling me to deal with situations calmly in the air and on the ground. Heck, my college essay was about flying! It was just another part of my primary education (a GREAT part).

J.
 
Does anyone remember back in the late 80's or early 90's when there were a whole bunch of "supervised solo" x-country "records" being broken by increasingly younger and younger kids until the FAA (I'm guessing) finally put a stop to it?

I wonder if any of those kids are still in or currently pursuing a career in aviation now?
 
[ QUOTE ]
Does anyone remember back in the late 80's or early 90's when there were a whole bunch of "supervised solo" x-country "records" being broken by increasingly younger and younger kids until the FAA (I'm guessing) finally put a stop to it?

I wonder if any of those kids are still in or currently pursuing a career in aviation now?

[/ QUOTE ]

Those flights were not "supervised." They changed to the "16 to solo" rule after there was (I might be incorrect on the age) a 9ish year old girl who was pressured to do a flight across the country by her parents, and found herself in a line of thunderstorms and crashed and died.

As far as the training, there is no age requirement. I had an 8 year old student for a while, who sat on a duct tape wrapped phone book. He could take off fly a beautiful pattern and land by himself and do it safely without my help. Two of my nephews have logbooks started and they are 3 & 6, and they have about 2 hours each of flight training logged. They couldn't reach the rudders, and one of them was actually still in his car seat, but he loved to do steep turns, and has a pretty good idea that if you push the houses get bigger, and if you pull they disappear. I got a picture of it somewhere, I will try to get it on here sometime.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Those flights were not "supervised." They changed to the "16 to solo" rule after there was (I might be incorrect on the age) a 9ish year old girl who was pressured to do a flight across the country by her parents, and found herself in a line of thunderstorms and crashed and died.


[/ QUOTE ]

Are you "sure sure" about that? I seem to remember watching a Today Show piece on a young girl and her instructor who were pressured to go flying across the country and ended up crashing.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Those flights were not "supervised."

[/ QUOTE ]That's right. They were dual flights. The age 16 rule has been around for a long time. It has been part of the regulations since at least the 1942 version of the CAR.
 
16 is for the US but up here in Canada you can get your Student Pilot Permit and solo at age 14. I've read about at least one girl doing that with the St.Catharines Flying club here in St.Cath, right now I'm (proudly) the youngest student with Niagara Air Tours though and am planning on a solo this summer. Not sure why in Canada the rule is 14 but in the US its 16, I mean in Canada you can fly before you can drive!
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[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Those flights were not "supervised."

[/ QUOTE ]That's right. They were dual flights. The age 16 rule has been around for a long time. It has been part of the regulations since at least the 1942 version of the CAR.

[/ QUOTE ]

OK - wasn't positive, but have heard the story a few times, and in instructor was never mentioned. Googled it - Sorry mis-info.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Google Jessica Dubroff.

[/ QUOTE ]Thanks, Steve. I remember that girl now. Reading this account - The Jessica Dubroff Accident - from AVweb of her, her dad, and CFI's tragic death had me
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throughout the whole article. Ultimately the PIC's resposibility for bad decision making and airmanship, but probably exacerbated by media attention, and parental ego.
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