Emerson Smith ‘25 is one of the few people at Bolles who can fly planes. She receives the love for planes from her dad, who is also a pilot.
Smith’s dad is a commercial pilot, which inspired to get her license. “I’ve been around planes my whole life,” Smith said. She loves how flying is now something she has in common with her dad and said it has made them very close.
Her mom enjoys watching her fly. She often tells Smith how happy she is and how happy her dad looks when she gets into the plane.
Her journey to earning her license began last summer in Cincinnati. Her cousin, who teaches flight lessons, pushed her to begin learning about it. Smith’s family already has many pilots and frequent flyers, and her cousin thought it would make sense to have another. Her cousin’s friend allowed her to start practicing with a Cherokee 180, a “little single engine plane,” Smith said.
She began flying twice a day over five days a week during the summer. However, because she is a senior and is also consumed with school, she now only flies when she has free time and goes to Cincinnati, which she was able to do a few times because of the hurricanes in the fall.
Smith enrolled in a flight school, though she did not stay enrolled for long. “There’s a lot of insurance with flying, so they don’t like to let kids do solo flights,” Smith said. “Or they take an extremely long time.”
Conveniently, her dad’s friends are flight instructors and fly for American Airlines, and so she began taking one-on-one lessons with them. Her mom and dad both encouraged her to continue the lessons, which pushed her. She also knew that being able to fly would open many opportunities for her in the future.
One of the first things Smith had to complete to earn her license was completing a solo cross country, which she describes as “training up in the plane alone.” This includes making “three stops, going through the weather and communications, and learning how to talk to towers.”
The last thing Smith had to do prior to earning her license was her final check ride, which she explained as “going up and doing all the maneuvers within 100 feet.” She also had to complete a written and oral exam in the final steps to earning her license.
Smith officially got her license in late November, which meant alot to her and her family.
Her favorite part about flying is “it can take you anywhere and is very relaxing.” Though it isn’t her dream to become a commercial pilot like her dad, she isn’t opposed to flying privately or flying cargo. Her mom feels safer flying because there are two pilots flying the plane on family vacations instead of just one. Smith also dreams of starting her own flight company in the future.
