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One of the marquee moments as a budding young teenager is getting behind the wheel and driving for the first time by yourself. No parents, siblings or distractions, just you, your brand-new license and the open road.
Now how many 16-year-olds do you know that are flying planes solo?
On Sunday, April 27, 16-yearold Eagle Lake teenager Ben Peterson took to the sky all on his own completing his very first solo flight at the Eagle Lake Regional Airport, piloting an aircraft all by himself just days after passing his driver’s license test that prior Thursday.
What may seem like a whirlwind weekend for a young teen has been in the works for quite some time. Peterson has been learning how to fly for the past three years, taking lessons at the airport in town, being taught by Hallettsville flight instructor Garret Olive.
Having grown up in a homeschooling system, Peterson has been more flexible than the average teen and able to carve out time for flight lessons, coordinating his schedule of taking lessons with home schooling.
Peterson says the moment that culminated with him soaring through the air on his own came after lots of preparation, having flown over 50 hours since he first began learning at the age of 13. Despite admittedly feeling nervous the day of the solo flight, he says his vast experience played a huge part in grounding him and making him realize that there was nothing to fear.
“I was pretty nervous at first when I was on the runway because I was actually alone in the plane, so I can mess up,” said Peterson. “But once I got up there, I was like ‘I’ve done this many times now, 50 hours, I got this,’ so it felt pretty easy after that. It was kind of weird though because the plane behaved differently since usually there was another person in on the other side, and that makes a huge difference.”
Amy Maxwell, Peterson’s mother, said the multi-year long experience was a blessing given how many are unable to peruse such an opportunity due to multi-year long waitlists. She says one of the luxuries afforded to small town living is being able to take advantage of opportunities such as this one, especially given that Eagle Lake has its own airport.
“The aviation school we visited, one of the kids from the Bozeman Airport asked if he was going to fly and they said no because there’s a three-year waitlist for them to get a flight instructor,” said Maxwell. “A lot of times, flight instructors are hard to find. So, we’ve gotten lucky because it’s a small airport and you know people that are instructors. I think that’s helped afford him this opportunity as well.”
With Peterson’s invaluable experience at such a young age, it’s no surprise that he plans on taking his talents towards a professional route, contemplating whether to join the Air Force Academy, flight school or a career in private or commercial flights.
His favorite part about the entire experience, of course, is being able to display his skills to others and show just what he’s capable of behind the wheel.
“It’s a pretty good feeling to be able to show off in front of everybody,” said Peterson. “That I can fly a plane.”
