Local student pilot solos

The month of May was a busy one for Joe Taylor as he completed his sophomore year at New Prague High School and made his first solo flight in a plane.

“I’ve been interested in flying since I was 8 years old,” said Taylor, son of Rob and Karen Taylor of New Prague. He’s been wanting to take flying lessons since he was 10 and on May 3, his birthday, he did his solo flight at the age of 16.

Before reaching that milestone there were several steps. His family was in Winona at the time when he found out through a program with the Civil Air Patrol he could take orientation flights. He noted that the pilot sat next to him during the one hour flight. “It was a lot of smiles, a lot of excitement,” remembered Taylor. “I was surprised how these small controls controlled such a big airplane.”

In June 2013 his family moved to New Prague and he transferred to the Civil Air Patrol’s Viking Squadron that meets in Eden Prairie. Taylor is also a member of the Boy Scouts and he knew he wanted to earn both his Eagle Scout and his student pilot wings. In 2014, he began his Eagle Scout project, building three park benches that are next to the Veterans Memorial in Memorial Park. In June 2015 he earned his Eagle Scout. “Then all my focus could go into being a pilot,” said Taylor.

To do that, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) required a medical certificate....

To see more on this story pick up the June 16, 2016 print edition of The New Prague Times.