For the past few months, sophomore Hunter Kane has been training to receive her pilot’s license. She spends her time once or twice a week after school at the Lehigh Valley International Airport practicing. Ever since she was young, she knew this was something she wanted to do.

“Have you ever seen what the high school or Giant looks like from above?” Kane said. “It’s amazing how tiny we really are and how big of a world we live in.”

At the age of ten, Kane became hooked on flying when the Quakertown Airport offered free first plane rides for children to get the feel for it.

“Right away I thought it was amazing,” Kane said. “Looking out that window of a plane and seeing how small people are… I really enjoyed it.”

She now participates in a program known as ACE Pilot Training and practices flying with her assigned instructor. She generally flies a small plane, such as a Cessna 152, which has a wingspan of about 33 feet.

“The program that I do [is] a ‘go-with-the-flow’ kind of program,” Kane said. “Often times when I fly, I will take off and fly to a practice area with an instructor and practice maneuvers until I have enough hours to get my private license and the experience needed.”

There are recreational, sport, private, commercial, instrumental, and airline transport licenses. The license Kane is working towards allows her to act as the ‘pilot-in-command’ of a private aircraft, but without getting paid for the time she flies.

“You can do so many things with a pilot’s license,” Kane said. “I could go into the military, which is something I’m leaning towards. I would get to do something I love but also protect our country at the same time.”

Kane must complete at least 60-70 hours of flying by herself as well as with an instructor and be 17 before she can qualify to get her license. Once she receives her private license, she hopes to go on to get her instrumental certification.

Out of all of the licenses, instrumental is the hardest to receive. When flying a plane, the pilot has a “blindfold” on that makes it impossible to see outside and they can only look at the dashboard. The pilot must rely on their instruments to fly the plane.

“I don’t know a lot about acquiring a pilot license, but when I fly I would prefer a pilot that is focused and can easily overcome an obstacle,” math teacher Mrs. Erin Everett said. “I see both of these qualities in Hunter in the classroom and in conversations outside of class. It doesn’t surprise me at all that she is training for a profession with such high responsibility.”

Many of her teachers believe this experience and training gives insight towards her personality.

“Hearing that Hunter is training for her pilot’s license does not surprise me at all. In class, she’s highly motivated and isn’t afraid to put her hand up and take risks to answer questions,”  science teacher Mr. Erik Steiner said. “I think going for her pilot’s license is just another example of that aspect of her personality and I have no doubt that she’ll be very successful.”

As Kane continues to train for her license, she constantly reiterates her gratitude for the opportunity to fly and being able to experience something so rewarding and unbelievable.

“When they say, ‘the sky’s the limit,’ it really is. The biggest pro to me is that I have an unlimited amount of opportunities,” Kane said. “If I can fly a plane, I can do anything.”