I’ll Fly Away

by Laila Johnson

Hi, my name is Laila and I am thirteen years old. The first time I ever flew in an airplane was at a Young Eagles event when I was about nine or ten years old. It was a Piper PA 28-236 Dakota. The Young Eagles program has dedicated more than 25 years to giving kids and teens ages 8–17 their first free ride in an airplane. The pilot even let me fly for a little bit on my own! I was immediately hooked on flying. My mom noticed my newfound interest in flight, and she contacted Cape Fear Aviation School and a CFI named Elayne Humphrey. Miss Elayne showed an interest in me because I am homeschooled. She homeschooled her children, and we found we had much in common. She loved my passion for learning about airplanes. I currently attend Cape Fear Aviation School twice a month. I do one day of ground school and one day with flying instruction in the aircraft. I try to fly as much as possible, but I missed many months of flight training since the coronavirus. I plan to have well over my 40 hours of flying to apply for my license when I’m seventeen. I would love to be able to fly around the country, or maybe even the world. There are many careers available to pilots. I could be a private tour pilot and fly small groups to and from their vacation destinations. I might join Aviation Without Borders, which is the aviation chain that bridges the link to the last mile between the generosity of the people of the USA and the people in need. Or, I could fly my friends and me to exciting places around the world!