Youth pilot makes solo flight
Cameron Finnie, 16, of Marcellus, said he has always had an interest in flying, but this interest has turned to a more focused passion in recent months with the young pilot most recently making his first solo flight on July 3.
“It was a great feeling,” Finnie said. “I had all the usual feelings, but we had practiced and I knew the plane well and I was really prepared to do it. I realized it is something not a lot of kids my age get to do and it was just a great feeling.”
At an age when most kids are starting to learn to drive a car, Finnie, has put his focus on earning his pilot’s license as well as his driver’s license.
Finnie shared he has even had friends that were doubtful he was really learning how to fly.
“I can kind of compare it to driving,” Finnie said. “But it is a lot different. My friends are all learning how to drive and some of them didn’t believe me until I showed them pictures. It really isn’t something a kid my age normally does. For me it is just something I have always wanted to do and I am very comfortable with.”
This past fall, Finnie attended an event at Hancock Airport in Syracuse where he had the chance to work with a flight simulator.
He said this experience solidified his desire to learn more about flying.
With the support of his family, particularly his grandparents, Bill and Andrea Finnie, Finnie started working with flight instructor Jack Haggerty in November.
From the start, Haggerty was impressed to see the way Finnie took to flying.
“His grandparents had arranged a Young Eagle Flight for him with me last November when he was still 15 and I was very impressed with his flying skills then,” Haggerty said. “He also has a lot of interest in aviation history and I would say he is the most informed in that area of any of my past students.”
This spring, the work of learning to fly began in earnest.
According to Haggerty, on May 10, he and Finnie began working on lessons and preparing for Finnie’s July solo flight.
“I had lessons with Mr. Haggerty twice a week getting ready for my solo,” Finnie said. “We took a break for a little bit so I could focus on school stuff at the end of the year but then we were back to work.”
Haggerty said Finnie had amassed about 10 hours of training by July and with his family in attendance, Finnie performed the required maneuvers, including three solo take offs and landings in Haggerty’s 1940 Piper J5.
While Finnie said it is hard to put into to words the feeling to flying, much less flying on his own for the first time, he walked away from the experience more sure than ever that flying is something he wants to pursue.
Finnie said he will be continuing his training in pursuit of his license and he has looked at options like the Air Force and Navy as well as commercial possibilities.
“It is just something I would love to do,” Finnie said. “Even if I don’t get to do this professionally, it will definitely be something I keep doing as a serious hobby of mine. It is an amazing experience to get to fly.”
