For senior Kate Scheer, much of her childhood was composed of spending time at the airfield with the Wings of Carolina Flying Club, where her dad works and is a member. A self described “flight brat,” she recalled flying with her father in a Piper J-3 Cub, a small popular propellor powered plane, him in the back and her in the front. He would hand off the stick, and lean back in his seat, hands completely off the controls.
Scheer described that feeling, of a little girl flying a plane by herself, as “sheer terror that I’m flying,” but also then reaching this moment: “This is really cool, I’m flying!”
Sam Stout, another East senior and teen pilot, had a later introduction to flight than Scheer, but it still has become every bit as intrinsic to his identity.
“I’ve always really liked flying. The best part of any vacation was boarding the plane to go there,” Stout said.
Working several jobs throughout high school to pay his way through the cost of training, plane rentals and club fees, Stout’s resolve to prioritize his dream has never wavered.
“It gives you a different perspective on the world. It allows you to understand how things work—gives you a different outlook on life,” said Stout, who believes the experience ultimately makes it all worth the effort.
Stout said one of his most memorable experiences was flying a plane for the first time at night, and recalls that irreplaceable, wondrous sensation.
“Everything is just lights, everywhere. The only airports I had flown out of that point were small airports, so when I landed at RDU it was insane. It’s pretty overwhelming—completely pitch-black then RDU completely lit up, Boeing 747’s landing right in front of you, everyone talking in the air waves,” Stout said.
It’s that exhilarating feeling of freedom and exploration that flight offers which draws in such passionate enthusiasts.
“I’m the kind of person who likes adventures,” Scheer said. “When you’re up in a plane, it’s really this feeling that you can go anywhere, do anything, can look out hundreds of miles, and I love that feeling of freedom and adventure.”
Teen pilot and fellow senior Nathan Lissy caught the “flight bug” early on, most likely from his experiences with the local aviators chapters and Young Eagles, a program designed to provide youths opportunities to get involved in flying. Ever since then, he had “always wanted to fly, but it wasn’t until I had actually started flying that I decided this was the real deal.”
Like the other pilots, Lissy also described a sense of liberation from flying.
“A mile of road is a mile of road, but a mile of runway takes you anywhere,” Lissy said. He went on to refer to the Carthage airport, which among local flyers is somewhat well known for the mythically-tasty barbecue offered on the airfield as planes come and go. “There are airports everywhere, you can fly in and just eat barbecue; [it’s] the ability to go just about anywhere.”
Aside from the legendary pork, a key reason that this passion for flight has been able to be realized by teens is the community that comes with it.
“I cannot stress enough how welcoming and special [of] a community flight is, especially at the club; there’re so many role models,” said Scheer, referencing the Wings of Carolina Flying Club where her love of flight was stoked over the years.
Lissy reaffirmed the importance and impact of that unique community on young pilots.
“From everyone I’ve talked to in aviation, the big thing a lot of pilots recognize is to pay-it-forward. Aviation is one big family because there’s so few pilots,” Lissy said.
This kind of self-sustaining and friendly environment makes flight, for some young pilots, not only a passion but also a life’s dream. It extends beyond simply handling the yoke and reading altimeters, but to broader life lessons about taking the plunge to pursue your passions.
“Don’t be afraid to chase your dream. It’s super rewarding in the end, and you get to do what very few people can do,” Lissy said.
Featured image: C-47 and P-51s at Oshkosh air show, courtesy of Kate Scheer
