UK's youngest pilot reaches for the sky

06/10/2008

A young woman based at Humberside Airport has become the UK's youngest pilot, it has emerged.

Sally Cluley from Leicester is now 17 and legally old enough to obtain her pilot's licence, after she fulfilled a gruelling five-week intensive training course at the airport this summer.

She passed her general flight and skills test in August, after accumulating some 50 hours of flying, when she was just 16 years old.

Speaking to the Sun, Sally said: "Flying just seemed to come naturally to me. It makes me feel as free as a bird.

"I'm going to stay on at school to finish my A-levels. Then I'd love to try to join the RAF," she added.

Sally trained with POM Flying Club and its director Chris Dale expressed his delight at her achievment. "Sally has been an exceptional student – extremely bright and a natural pilot," he said.

"The RAF has taken a keen interest in her achievement and we are privileged to have had the opportunity to train her."

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