Take to the skies: Teen flies solo for sixteenth birthday! Lake Elmo Airport (21D), St Paul, Minnesota.

Scandia teen Anders Maxwell hops in the pilot seat of a Cessna 152. The teen flew solo for the first time on his sixteenth birthday — the youngest age allowed for solo flights by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Submitted photo

9/6/11

By Phillip Bock

Most teens are excited about passing their drivers test and getting their license on their sixteenth birthday, but for Anders Maxwell of Marine on St. Croix, that was just the beginning. With his sight on the clouds, and not on the road, Maxwell took to the skies, performing a solo airplane flight for the very first time.

The Sophomore at Stillwater Area High School began taking piloting classes at the Lake Elmo Airport earlier this year in the hopes that he could fly solo on his sixteenth birthday — the youngest age the Federal Aviation Administration allows for solo flights.

He was inspired to complete the rare accomplishment after watching his older cousin do it the year prior.

"I watched her and it looked really fun," he said. "I asked my dad if I could start learning how to fly so I could solo at 16."

Maxwell is no stranger to the aviation industry. His father, Bill Maxwll, and uncle are both Delta Airlines pilots. His grandfather also was an airline pilot. Despite a family history in the industry, Maxwell said he never really thought about flying when he was younger.

"I flew with my dad every now and then, but I never really thought that I would want to fly myself," he said.

It was not until seeing his cousin fly that, at 15, Maxwell began taking lessons in the hope that he would be ready for a birthday flight.

"We trained and trained," he said. "My sixteenth birthday came and I was ready."

When the day came, Maxwell had 11 flight hours under his belt and several hours of classroom training. He performed a series of take off and landings on his birthday with the flight instructor before being given the go-ahead to take off on his own.

"I dropped him off after the second landing and I took off by myself three times," he said.

The accomplishment took about 30 minutes to complete. His father, watching from the ground, said Maxwell's piloting of the Cesna 152 was "very good."

"The first one I was a bit nervous, but after the second one it got easier and easier," Maxwell said of his flights.

Both procedures, taking off and landing, are fun, Maxwell said, but landing is the most difficult.

"You have to be at the right speed and the right altitude," he said. "You have to make sure you don't overshoot the runway."

On each take off, Maxwell would climb to 1,900 feet before turning around and bringing the plane in for a landing.

"You keep the nose down right until you are over the runway," he said. "At less than 10 feet above the runway you pull the nose up and starts slowly falling."

Maxwell's parents and several relatives watched from the ground.

"My mom was nervous, but my dad was very confident," he said. "It really was fun. We had a party in the hanger afterwards."

Next, Maxwell will train on navigation, mapping and instruments before flying longer distances. Though he said he finds flying fun, Maxwell is still not sure if he wants to pursue a career in aviation.

"I definitely want to get my private pilots license at 17, but I don't know if I want to make a career out of it," he said. "Maybe someday, but I have plenty of time to think about it."

http://www.countrymessenger.com