LEARNING TO FLY

JAMES BENNETT III

KOKOMO TRIBUNE

Before Savannah Lipinski rides on her first commercial flight, she plans on earning a pilot’s license.

The Northwestern High School senior has already begun flying solo in a Cessna 172, a major requirement for her to receive a private pilot’s license.

Lipinski explained her interest in flight is fairly new.

About a year and a half ago, her father asked her what she wanted to do when she got out of high school. She didn’t have any particular jobs in mind, but knew she wanted to travel and make a decent amount of money.

Jake Lipinski, Savannah’s father, mentioned the idea of becoming a pilot. Lipinski thought about it for a bit, then started to ask her dad how she could go about becoming a pilot.

He didn’t know much about aviation, but told her they could find out.

It just so happened the Experimental Aircraft Association was booking discovery flights at Kokomo Municipal Airport a few weeks later. Lipinski signed up for one of the 20-minute rides. She was nervous. It was her first time flying and the certified flight instructor let her try steering the plane.

Lipinski’s father said she had a big smile on her face when she stepped out of the plane.

BECOMING A PILOT

Lipinski took a few weeks to consider whether she really wanted to become a pilot. It’s a fairly expensive hobby to get into, running about $10,000 to get a private pilot license.

After deciding to go ahead with the pilot license, she learned she was able to qualify for a scholarship from the Experimental Aircraft Association that would cover half the cost. Her family put up the rest of the funds.

Lipinski’s father said a few factors worked in her favor when she applied for the scholarship. For one, he said, she’s an excellent student. She’s also a bit of a rare case in the aviation world, he added.

“A 16-year-old girl is kind of atypical,” Lipinski’s father said. “It’s becoming more and more prevalent, but aviation is a male-dominated world.”

Lipinski took her first solo flight May 15, marking a fairly big step toward earning her private pilot license.

“The first time was scary. I was a little nervous,” Lipinski said. “But then after that, it was like, ‘Okay, I did it. So let’s do it again.’ It wasn’t that bad.”

Other than three solo flights, people earning their private pilot license have to complete night flights and a 50-mile cross country flight.

There’s also quite a bit to learn while on the ground. Lipinski explained she had to learn about each piece of an airplane, different types of fuel, aerodynamics and weather.

Shelbe Jarrett, Lipinski’s flight instructor, explained flight school students spend roughly half of their time studying everything they need to know while on the ground.

“A lot of people tend to struggle with the ground part,” Jarrett said. “Flying is the fun part. The ground part is usually the more challenging aspect.”

Jarrett said Lipinski is a bit ahead of the curve. Most students begin learning about aviation in college, she explained.

“I think she’s doing a great thing by getting a head start on it,” Jarret said, later adding, “She took the initiative to come out here and start flight training early while she’s still in high school. That way, she’ll have a leg up on her peers once she gets into college if she chooses to pursue aviation as not just a hobby but a career.”

Lipinski said learning to land was the most challenging part.

“You have to be very precise with it,” she said. “You can’t be too steep with it, but you also can’t be too narrow. Your speed is very important when landing, you have to be perfect with your speed and then you have to float for a minute over the runway before you completely land.”

It was also fairly difficult to get used to steering the plane on the ground, she added. The plane’s steering wheel turns its rudder — pilots use pedals to turn the plane when it’s on the ground.

“Speaking as a parent it is slightly nerve racking,” Lipinski’s father said.

He remembered sitting on the couch and getting a notification from Life360, which helps him monitor Lipinski’s driving habits, that said Lipinski was traveling at 130 mph. It took him a few moments to remember she was flying a plane.

“I’ve got to give her credit. She has nailed this one and been doing it. I ask her questions all the time. She gets tired of talking to her dad about it, because I’m so interested in it,” he said. “I think it’s pretty cool. This is really amazing to me that she’s just getting her license and still in high school … it’s a really good experience.”

Lipinski plans on attending Purdue or Indiana State University to continue her aviation training. Eventually, she would like to become a commercial pilot, which would allow her to transport passengers or cargo.

Going to either school would

See PILOT on A11

Northwestern senior Savanah Lipinski, who is earning her private pilot’s license, poses with an airplane June 20.

Tim Bath | Kokomo Tribune

CONTINUED FROM A1

reduce the amount of required flight time needed to earn a commercial pilot license.

Both schools have competitive programs, though.

ADDRESSING A GROWING PROBLEM

According to Brian Dillman, head of Purdue’s aviation school, applications for the program have been steadily increasing over the past five years.

Roughly 1,700 people applied in 2023. However, the program is able to accommodate just 100 students.

It isn’t viable to add more seats, either, Dillman said. The university’s f light programs are the most resource-intensive at Purdue because they require a fleet of costly aircraft that operate out of Purdue’s airport.

The good news for students who make it into the program is there should be jobs available when they graduate. The aviation industry is facing a historic pilot shortage.

According to estimates from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there will be 16,800 openings on average for airline and commercial pilots.

“The demand isn’t going to go away,” said Damon Lercel, an assistant professor and aviation researcher at Purdue University. “It’s only going to continue to go up, so we need to get people engaged with aviation earlier.”

To help remedy the pilot shortage, Purdue is teaming up with four Indiana high schools to develop entry-level aviation training curriculum and give students access to AI-fueled flight simulators.

Next year, the university hopes to help the high schools launch summer camps where students could earn unmanned aircraft licenses and complete ground training for their private pilot license.

The program will affect 120 high schoolers annually, and is covered by a more than $380,000 grant Purdue received from the Federal Aviation Administration.

The university also started a joint program with Purdue Global, its sister institution, in 2020 to offer its aviation courses online. The universities work with flight-training providers across the nation to give students flying experience.

So far, that program has brought in somewhere between 30 and 40 students a year, Dillman said.

“Purdue Global students want to buckle down and focus on degree completion,” Dillman said. “It’s geared toward more adult learners who don’t need a collegecampus experience.”

CNHI Indiana reporter Carson Gerber contributed to this article.