By ELENA MARSH
Staff Writer
Before future pilots can take to the skies, they put in hours of studying and hard work, both on the ground and off. For one young pilot, years of passion culminated in his first solo flight at just 16 years old.
No one in Moore County was hoping for a break in the recent rainy weather conditions more than Noah White. Noah eventually got his chance — just himself and the sky — on a clear early June afternoon.
“ The earliest memory of me flying was flying out with my dad out to get ice cream at Johnson County. I was flying a 172,” said Noah. “I really was attached to aviation when my dad was just in training for his pilot’s license, but that flight, really, that’s when I caught the bug.”
Since he was 7, Noah has been enamored by aviation. Sitting in the co-pilot seat with his father, Jeremy White, Noah developed a love for flying he couldn’t shake. Neither could his family.
“ He’s just always been really interested in planes,” said Jeremy. “He’s always wanted to go around and touch airplanes, but then we’d go home and he’d watch YouTube videos, which can be really boring.” Noah’s two sisters can attest to that.
“And it’s not just about watching people fly,” said Jeremy. “It’s how the planes fly.”
When he was in the Army, Jeremy thought he’d be flying more than he did. When retirement came around, aviation became a hobby for not only himself, but something he could share with his wife and kids.
Family trips to other small general aviation airports yielded ice cream and very few “Are we there yet?” moments. For Noah, the sweet treat was takeoff, and landing only meant another flight was soon to come.
“ Jeremy started going through the process of getting his pilot’s licence when Noah was 7,” said Lauren White, Noah’s mother. “ Noah would sit next to (Jeremy) while he was studying. We’ve always had a flight simulator at the house, so Noah would sit there with his dad and they’d do their thing.”
Before Noah could get behind the yoke all on his own, he spent time in the cockpit with his dad and other mentors. Family vacations made for especially great practice.
“ When we fly, Noah has done all the radios, and he actually does a lot of the flying while we’re in the airplane,” said Jeremy.
Noah’s solo flight on Wednesday was one of the biggest steps he took toward getting a licence. He said his decision to become a pilot came when he was about 10.
“Just a year or so after my first flight, that was when I really decided it would be fun and rewarding,” said Noah. “It’s an awesome feeling to know that I’ve got people that are going to be on the ground supporting me through all of this, especially with how long it’s going to take.”
Noah’s current goal is to become an airline pilot. He is hoping one day to attend college at the University of North Dakota, Western Michigan or Ohio State.
Aside from his parents, Noah’s experience with his flight instructor, Slim Thompson, has been influential in his journey.
“He has pushed me along and has always been there for me,” said Noah.
Thompson is the CEO of Sovereign Aerospace and its subsidiary companies, Sandhills Fliers, Veteran Transition Corps and Pinehurst Aviation Services. Thompson was responsible for most of Noah’s official instruction and practiced with him before his solo flight.
“A lot of days in the business it can feel like a grind,” said Thompson. “A day like today is why I do what I do. To get a kid that’s passionate, those are the wins that we wait for.”
Noah’s flight was smooth, smoother than some professionals, according to Thompson. As his parents and instructors looked on from the runway, Noah’s flight looked effortless and well-informed.
“ I had a friend ask me one time, ‘If you were in a plane and something happened and they needed somebody to help land the aircraft, would you feel confident with Noah?’ I said absolutely,” said Lauren.
“He’s flown with a lot of different pilots, all different ages, all different backgrounds, and everyone who flies with him says that he’s a natural. It’s a testament to who he is. He takes things very seriously, and this is absolutely something he’s incredibly passionate about. It’s insane, as a mom, to hear your 16-year-old be so knowledgeable.”
Last Wednesday, on his big day, Noah flew his favorite plane — a Cessna 172 Skyhawk, an American four-seat, single-engine, high-wing, fixed-wing aircraft.
At the end of his flight, Noah’s right of passage was made official when, by aviation tradition, the back of his T-shirt was cut by his dad, mom and Thompson. Before communication through headset was adapted for aircraft, flight instructors would sit behind their students in the often open cockpit. If the instructor needed the student’s attention, they would pull the back of the student’s shirt. Now, the shirt-cutting is a sign of an instructor’s confidence in their student, symbolizing that they no longer require the assistance they once did.
“ I think flying, it’s a lot of, just, little movements,” said Noah. “I feel like it’s the same way in life. You’re going to make little movements, but they’re going to have big outcomes.”
Contact Elena Marsh at (910) 693-2484 or elena@thepilot.com.
