Hi everyone, I have a bit of a vague/odd question. Tonight my wife and I went to my son's, who is 10 years old, 5th grade parent teacher conference. We heard the ol', he's a great student, works well, needs to write more detail in his answers, ext... His teacher said occasionally he can daydream, and stare out the window, and she has to bring his attention back. So putting him to bed tonight, talking with him, I changed the subject from, praising him for doing well, to, "What do you daydream about when you stare out the window?" His response was, "I want to fly a plane." So I figured this would be a great place to ask what others would do for their kids, to help this along. We do have an R/C flight simulator, Phoenix 4. He has fun with it but I think it comes across more as a video game than like anything real. We live near a small airport that offers sky diving. Would I be way out of line to ask them if they would allow him to ride along for one of the jump flights? Is this something that hasn't been done for 20 years because of insurance reasons, ext.... I realize they mean business when they're up there, but I don't yet know if the pilot or jumpers would ever even consider doing anything like this for an outsider. The thought that keeps coming to mind is search Youtube and watch a few videos with him. I did do a quick google search for age requirements. 16 to solo, so we are a ways away. So I am asking to see what you have for ideas that would allow a 10 year old to case a dream. Thankyou, Peter
Sounds like me when I was a kid. If someone is agreeable and you can afford it, arrange for him to take a flight. This will allow him to experience flight and to see what it is like but it will also be an avenue for him to see what the pilot has to know in order to fly an airplane now days. The pilot can help with this by emphasizing the training and SCHOOLING that has to be accomplished to be a pilot. Reading, mathematics, physics, and good english are foremost.
I started lessons at 10. I loved every minute of it, and although I was a long way from obtaining my license, the fire burned strong through the years until the time was right. Flying was a major confidence booster for my somewhat awkward 10-year-old self. It was also something I had wanted to do since I went to my first airshow maybe three years prior and enjoyed immensely. The key is finding a good, patient instructor. My first instructor, a very calm, smooth older gentleman, left a very positive and indelible impression on me. I wouldn't even bother with the skydiving thing, honestly. Just get a discovery flight or something similar from a flight school -- they are usually very reasonably priced and will establish pretty quickly whether this is a transitory interest or a lifelong obsession. I definitely say go for it.
Get him a ride in a glider. You can solo a glider at 14, if he still wants to, and really that isn't all that far away-- especially considering it's a summer activity.
The two posts above are both great advice. I'll add a third avenue: when I was about his age my Dad and I built a radio-controlled glider for me to fly. The glider part was important since it allowed me to fly near my home and not annoy the neighbors with engine noise (asking them to retrieve the airplane from trees/roofs/backyards was another thing) It was a great/fun project and might be a nice complement to flight lessons / airplane rides
Vehicles in general are attractive to boys, and often lead to dreams of operating/designing/owning them some day, whether cars, trains or planes. Enzo Ferrari saw his first race at age 10 and decided right then he wanted to build world-famous race cars some day, and he did! I saw my first Boeing 707 at age 6 back in 1959 and decided right then that I wanted to design airplanes some day, and I am! (Well, parts of airplanes, at least.) So your son's dreams are perfectly normal and you just need to nurture them until he can fulfill them. Take him to airshows, take him to factories that give tours (e.g. Boeing in Seattle), maybe even pay for him to take a ride. But also tell him to try and leave his dreams outside the classroom, since doing well in school is paramount in making all his dreams come true someday.
Do an EAA young eagles flight. It's free and you can make a few contacts at the airport. Most general aviation pilots would give him a short ride.
When I was his age my teacher used to tell me, "you'll never get paid to daydream and stare out the window all day. " Oh how wrong she was! Step up from an RC simulator to an RC airplane. Simulators are great, but they're not the same. Sorta like texting vs actually talking to someone. At his age I started flying RC planes and never looked back. So much fun! You could do an introductory flight, but I'm guessing it may be a bit too much at 10. Anyways, just my thoughts.
+1 Turn off the video games. At that age I had a small table in the basement next to my Dad's re-loading bench. Spent many hrs building balsa wood rubber band airplanes. Crash the plane, rebuild it. Rinse and repeat. Quality time with Dad and building skills at the same time (vs taking a completed plastic/foam model out of a box).
Thankyou everyone for your input! Great ideas and great advice from all of you. We will take this further. The childhood inspirations are fantastic! Thanks again, Peter
I told my parents I wanted to fly when I was 13. They said yes on the condition I paid for my own lessons. So, at age 13 I walked to the local FBO and started waxing airplanes, cutting grass, pumping fuel, cleaning bathrooms, etc. After three years of lessons, I finally got to solo on my 16th birthday, multiengine rating at 18, and helicopter-instrument rating at age 21 (thanks to the Army). I thank my parents for teaching me the value of hard work, goal setting, and for encouraging a 13 year old kid to chase his dream. You remind me of my dad --a good thing. Your kid is lucky to have a dad like you.
That's exactly how I started , Jim. I built models, starting with rubber powered and then graduated to gas free flights . I learned a lot of aerodynamics with the free flights and don't think there is more thrill and satisfaction than a successful flight with a big Carl Goldberg Clipper or Zipper. My only problem then was that I was the only one in the family interested in aviation and whatever success I had was through my own initiative and autodidactive efforts. Sorry. I had to throw that in for the fun of it. Self teaching. It would have been nice to have had some help but it worked out okay because I didn't know anything else. I washed airplanes and cleaned hangars but all I was able to get were some great flights in some old biplanes.
Did the washing/waxing while taking lessons too. Small town airport in the cornfields, where they encouraged kids to come out and dream about aviation. Then the fences were to keep cows out, now the fences keep dreams out.
Peter, take an introductory flight with him but get ready to fund TWO kids learning to fly . . . you and your son. I've been a CFI (certified flight instructor) for about 25 years but active only a fraction of that. Nonetheless, I can't tell you how many father/son pairs showed up interested then began taking lessons at the same time. I'm trying to get my teenage boys interested in learning, but for selfish reasons . . . I need cheap copilots!
Peter, You may be attaching too much importance to his statement. Two weeks from now he may tell you he's now daydreaming about being a professional athlete. Make sure this desire is real and lasting before taking a lot of action. Matt
Intro flight to get him hooked. I forgot to mention you should look into the Civil Air Patrol, which as a cadet, also instilled discipline and my lifelong passion for aviation. The intro flight lesson will make a great Xmas, er holiday, gift!
Yep. My dad got me hooked. I sat in the back of a 172 during one of his lessons when I was 11. As I said above, lessons started at 12. Mark
Gurslo, When my boy was in kindergarten I used to sit him on a Seattle phone book in a 56' 172 and let him fly it around. He picked it up quickly and flew straight and level after rolling out of turns before he could ride a bike. Unfortunately he grew out of it and lost interest. I know this isn't your situation with handy availability of a plane but you could take him to a local FBO flight school and most do "introductory flights" and if you do it in a 172 you could ride along and share the experience. It'll be money well spent.
Encourage it. Get him some intro flight lessons to see if he enjoys it. If there is a local pilots club, take him to a meeting. Take him to a few air shows. Like sun n fun. If you get him involved in aviation early, you'll have less issues with him as a teenager.
I tend to agree with this. Flying takes a lot of maturity and discipline. It's a big responsibility, which I think is great for a teenager. Mark
Absolutely! And let's face it -- we need to encourage the young people who are interested in real experiences, not staring at iPhones and computer games all day!! His enthusiasm may even infect classmates/friends. Mine did!
Joker, you are absolutely correct and it is good training for a teenager. I saw this when I was in the Air Force during WW2. There were some kids that simply did not have the mentality to be pilots in spite of having high I.Q.'s. Some did not have the mental or physical discipline that was needed, particularly in an emergency. Some were okay if they could memorize a booklet but were not up to it when the situation was not something that had been written for them to memorize. Good instruction will help in building discipline.
