Senior Simon Elwell is a regular teen; he goes to school and is in the band.  While his time at school is relatively normal, his free time is anything but that. Elwell can fly, literally.

Since he was a freshman, Elwell has been taking the steps to become a pilot.  In fact, it was just recently that he was able to take his first solo flight.

“Overall, there was a lot of studying. It was a lot of repetition and going over what would happen if the engine quit,” Elwell said.

Before he was able to fly solo, Elwell flew 23 hours with an instructor. He started out flying a Cherokee 180, but then he decided to fly a smaller plane.

When Elwell was a freshman, he thought about becoming a pilot, but he was never serious about it. It wasn’t until recent graduate Sam Bowam introduced him to Post State, which is the flight school Elwell goes to and Bowam went as well.

“Sam showed me the affordability of it and how available it is and how open they are to new people,” Elwell said.

Elwell believes that flying a plane is simliar to learning how to drive.

“At first it is really hectic because you have a lot of things you have to watch for. You have to make sure you do not go to slow, but then as you get going it is more like driving a car, second nature,”Elwell said.

Elwell believes this will help him in his post high school career as he wishes to fly for the Air National Gaurd.