FLYING HIGH
JENNIFER FLIES SOLO AT THE AGE OF 16
A Johnstone schoolgirl is on top of the world after completing her first solo flight just a day after turning 16.
Jennifer Cuthill became one of the youngest people in the country to fly alone and has now set her sights on a career flying commercial jets.
The talented teen needed just 17 hours tuition at the Leading Edge Flying Club based at Glasgow Airport before she was allowed to take the tiny Tomahawk light aircraft for a nerve-wracking solo flight.
And now Jennifer, who is also an SFA referee, is looking to forge a career in the sky.
She said: “I was nervous to do my first flight but I had really good tuition so I knew I was ready.
“I got a bit of a fright when I saw the fire engines at the side of the runway when I came in to land but I found out afterwards they do that for all the solo flights. “I would like to be a pilot.
“But I know it’s a lot of hard work.” Proud dad Brian said Jennifer didn’t tell him she was having her first 45-minute solo flight which took off a day after her 16th birthday.
He said: “She has done really well to do her first solo flight.
“She didn’t actually tell me she was doing it. I think she thought I would put a bit of pressure on her.
“When I went to pick her up she was in a room and no one was really telling me what was going on.
“Then someone said, ‘she has passed her solo flight!’
“She is one of the youngest in the country to do it. And now she has set her sights on getting her pilot’s licence when she is 17.
“I think she wants to become a pilot or an instructor but it can be very expensive so I think I‘ ll have to do some more overtime.”
Jennifer decided to give flying a go after passing Glasgow Airport every morning her way to school at Glasgow High.
Brian added: “We drive past the airport every day and I just kept saying to her why don’t you give it a go? and eventually she did and she loved it. Everyone at the Leading Edge Flying Club have been so welcoming and we’d like to thank them for that.”