Flight School: Age Limits for Flying

Lane Wallace

Monday, November 22, 2010 at 10:53 PM ET

Verified

Scott Leigh

Key Takeaways:

The ability to learn and succeed in flight training is not determined by chronological age, but rather by individual attributes such as motivation, maturity, judgment, and physical and mental aptitude.
While there are minimum age requirements for student pilot certificates, both younger individuals who start early and older pilots, including octogenarians, demonstrate that age is not a ceiling for learning to fly or maintaining proficiency.
Key factors for readiness to fly include the capacity to learn and follow procedures, interpret instruments, maintain situational awareness, exhibit higher-order thinking, and demonstrate good decision-making skills.
Generalizations about age are discouraged as they can be discriminatory; instead, a student's attitude, clarity of thought, and physical ability are the true indicators for successful flight training.

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Donna F. Wilt, Ph.D., is an ATP, a Master CFI and an associate professor of aviation at Hampton University. She says:

“The FAA states that an applicant for a student-pilot certificate must be at least 14 years old for the operation of a glider or balloon and 16 years old for other categories of aircraft. Many of us have heard of teenagers who soloed an airplane on their 16th birthday. These teenagers probably started flying years before they were eligible for a student-pilot certificate.