Warman pilot makes first solo flight at age 14

A Warman teen is one of the youngest pilots in North America.

Sara Striker, 14, took off on her first solo flight on her recent birthday. She decided to go as soon as possible to beat the record of a pilot who took to the skies five days after their 14th birthday.

Striker grew up sitting in the passenger seat with her pilot father, Ron. He’s glad to see his daughter take up the same passion.

“Ever since I was two, I’ve been in my dad’s plane … It has just kind of a hobby for me at this point,” she said.

She loves flying so much that it’s not surprising she started this early.

“Other people like doing their sport competitions and winning gold medals, but I’m in the air with an instructor having fun doing spins, stalls, circuits, all that good stuff,” she said.

Ron said Sara has a level of maturity beyond her years.

“She’s a bit of a goofy kid at times, but put her in a cockpit, she’s a straight-faced professional,” he said.

“It’s still surreal for me, just to think that I was 30 before I started flying … She’s definitely a natural.”

Sara takes her flight classes at Millennium Aviation in Saskatoon. Her instructor, Kristin Penner, thinks Sara’s an exceptional student.

“She’s very talented, and she’s very good, so it was pretty easy for me to teach her,” Penner said.

However, it was still hard for Penner to see Sara off on her first flight.

“She is very young. When I was waiting for her to go solo, I was kind of like, ‘I’m not sure if I want let her go,’ but skill-wise, she was fine,” Penner said.

Sara was also hesitant at first.

“When I got onto the runway, I was extremely nervous,” she said. “But when my wheels got off the ground, I thought, ‘Just fly the plane,’ so then all the nerves went away.

“It was a pretty good day, all in all.”

— With files from 650 CKOM’s Keenan Sorokan