LICENSED: Poly junior Anthony Platt recently acquired a license to pilot airplanes.
By Kate Santoso, Staff Writer
All around the world, millions of young, aspiring pilots are hard at work training for the day when they can take off and fly anywhere . At such a young age, Poly junior Anthony Platt (11) remarkably attained a Private Pilot License, which allows pilots to fly anytime, day or night and almost anywhere as long as the weather is suitable.
The requirements to get this license are simple but demand a great deal of work. One must fly for a minimum of 40 hours: at least 20 hours with an instructor and ten hours independently. Accordingly, Platt had to wait until his seventeenth birthday to take his check ride, which made sure he was capable to pilot a plane correctly. A Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE) evaluated his performance in both knowledge-based areas and flying skills. Once he passed this check ride, he acquired his license. “I’ve wanted to fly ever since I was little and this license is just the first step on the road to my career. Flying is something that I not only enjoy but prosper at,” Platt said.
Platt began informal training around the age of six, but his official training began at 12. The young pilot trained at both Redlands Airport and Riverside Municipal Airport. Being able to practice was difficult at first, as he needed access to a plane which he did not have originally. However, a family friend sold him a Beechcraft BE-77 Skipper about four to five years ago, and he has been flying ever since. Altogether, it took him eight to ten years to get his Private Pilot License. “Throughout the training it was all a challenge, but at the same time, it was easy because you learn from your mistakes,” Platt said.
Now he flies two main aircraft: a Beechcraft BE-77, also known as a Skipper, and a Beechcraft Bonanza. Currently, he is training to be an authorized ground instructor which would allow him to teach other aspiring pilots. Additionally, he is also training for an instrument rating which would permit him to fly in the clouds. “It is Anthony’s goal to become a Commercial Pilot. As an instructor, my job is to help students learn the fundamentals of aviation and apply them to match their flying abilities. Anthony made my job easy,” Instructor Jose Moreno said.
Like Platt, Mitchell Miller, former Poly student and a current senior at the University of California, Santa Barbara, attained his pilot license when he turned seventeen and received his instrument rating when he was eighteen, which Platt is presently training for. Miller is now working on getting his commercial and instructor rating.
“Flying has been my passion since I was a little boy. According to my mom, one of the first words out of my mouth was helicopter,” Platt said. Rest assured, Platt will be flying and piloting the rest of his life.