EHS seniors take to the air for solo flights
Published 11:43 pm Wednesday, May 4, 2022
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Star Photo/Hannah Askew Blake Stewart (L) with his Elizabethton High School instructor Dan Mills.
Star Photo/Hannah Askew Blake Stewart (L) and Trenton Taylor (R) successfully completed their solo flights on Tuesday. The students are seniors at Elizabethton High School.
Star Photo/Hannah Askew Senior Trenton Taylor takes off for his solo flight on Tuesday at the Elizabethton Municipal Airport.
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Elizabethton High School seniors Trenton Taylor and Blake Stewart took their first solo flights at the Elizabethton Municipal Airport on Tuesday.
Instructed by Dan Mills from the EHS Aviation Department, the students have been preparing for solo flight since January with Taylor having over 12 hours in dual flight training.
“At first I was nervous until my instructor got out, but once he did, I felt like I was riding a bike. It was very simple,” said Stewart.
With Taylor’s solo flight, an unexpected change of weather forced the young pilot to change directions mid-air. “It was extremely exciting and I think that’s just part of it. When you sign up for aviation, that’s just something you know is a possibility and we’re just at mother nature’s whim,” Taylor said.
While in the air, the students had very different experiences.
Stewart said he was cracking jokes and singing to himself while Taylor said he was shaking. Taylor also said that he pretended Mills was in the air with him during his solo flight which helped calm his nerves.
Stewart credits his success to his teachers, Dan Mills and Will Edmonds, and the instruction they provided.
“If you’re in an airplane by yourself, you’ve flown long enough. You should know what you’re doing. Just have fun with it,” said Stewart.
