Expert: Jeff Davis - 11/11/2006

Question
Hi, my name is Temeka Marie Teague and I always wanted to fly every since I was 3 years old. Now I'm 14 years of age and a freshman at Carrollton High School, of Carrollton Ga. I'm currently an Air Force JROTC cadet as an Airmen. I want to join the Air Force when I graduate from High School. I want to know how I'm suppose to get my pilots licenses and where I need to go for training to become part of the Air Force ROTC. Basically how to get started with my career.

Answer
Thanks for the question.  It's encouraging to hear from young people who want to get into aviation.  At your age, I would wait at least a year before starting anything.  When you do begin training, the best bet is to go to a nearby airport that does flight training.  I went to Airnav.com, which has a very good airport directory, and found an airport near Carrollton, up toward Mt. Zion.  However, it didn't say whether they offer training there (most airports do).  I also checked my Georgia road map and found airports near Newnan and Peachtree City, but I wasn't able to find either of those on Airnav.  Anyway, when you do find a suitable airport, call them up or walk in and tell them what you're interested in.  You may have to do some convincing to let them know you're serious, but if you are, they'll see it in you (trust me on that one).  If you're lucky, they'll have an instructor that can do the flying and teach you the ground school portion of the training - if not, you may have to enroll in a community college class for the ground school.  The FAA requires a minimum of 40 hours of flight time to get a license, but most students need more than that, about 60 or so on average.  You'll solo pretty early in the program (coolest thing you'll experience in your teens!) but most of your flight time will be with an instructor.  The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association has an excellent web site that has a lot of information about getting started, and you can find it at www.aopa.org.  Check it out, ask your ROTC teachers, and talk to some airport people, and let me know if you have more questions.  Meanwhile, be thankful that you're outside of Atlanta's airspace, where you can concentrate on learning to fly instead of spending your flight time dealing with traffic.  Good luck, and happy flying!