The sky’s the limit…

I make no apologies but I am going to be *that mother* – you know the one that clogs up FB (& therefore anyone else who reads her posts, unless you have set me to silent or similar!) with proud, perfect first born posts & rambles to anyone who will listen how talented/amazing/Einstein’s veritable protege etc her child(ren) is/are.

Bare with me on this one though ‘cos I really do think I deserve (well not really me as such but I’ll get on to that bit in a minute!) to have at least 5 minutes of proud glory hunting on H’s behalf.

There are so many reasons I can wax lyrical about H’s virtues: the love and support he gives to all his siblings, (and us of course) the practical care he has voluntarily been trained in to provide for Minx so he can give medications via her gastrostomy, set up her pump feeds (and now G’s too) and aid and assist with various other aspects of personal care; his verve for life, his 100% commitment to anything he puts his mind too, his enthusiasm to embrace every day no matter what it throws at him, volunteering for the local Young Carers; you get the picture: I could go on ad nauseum.

However, the last 2 weeks give me even more reason than normal to shout from the rooftops: H started his private pilots flight training on Monday 23rd July 2018.

On Thursday 26th July 2018 he did his very first air-flight – SOLO!!! Given that he’s only ever had a trial lesson aged 13 prior to this, I think that’s pretty bloody impressive!!! So shout it from the roof tops I will 😊

From a very early age, H demonstrated a love for all things plane related.

Not necessarily surprising given his Dad’s job (airline pilot for those who may not know) and watching him hero-worship his Daddy flying his little die-cast planes through the sky at death-defying angles, accompanied by lots of engine nnnnnneeeeewwwwaaaahhh type noises (apologies for very poor sound description!) was very sweet.

By aged 3 he could identify most aircraft in the sky or at an airport with spectacular accuracy and had a vast collection of little plastic aircraft models on display stands from various different fleets. Very fragile, a nightmare to dust around and definitely not compatible with younger siblings clumsy hands!

He could fly the simulator on our home computer and his idea of a top day out was sitting in Jersey Aero Club watching planes coming in and out of the Island for hours at a time.

Since the age of 4, he’s talked about being a pilot. Initially we responded with a laugh; how many of us said things when we were pint-sized about future occupations and how many of us actually do those particular jobs? As far as I can tell the world isn’t overrun with spacemen, nurses, ice-cream taste testers et al (Incidentally Mr DNTW’s wanted to be a dustbin lorry driver or the night porter on a sleeper train!) Over the years however, H’s convictions only grew stronger and 3 or 4 years ago, recognising that he was serious, we began scrabbling down the back of the sofa for the purported thousands that Brits are supposed to have scattered in loose change (I suspect this is collectively as I only found about 2p, a chewed piece of gum no doubt stashed by one of the offspring for safe-keeping 🤮 and a partially eaten nerf bullet)

The sofa search having proved fruitless, I went to investigate the mystical money tree that lives at the bottom of the garden. Alas, there’s a straggly looking bush and a peeling- paint-bit of fence but nowt else.

We started looking at flight schools more closely and after I had scraped my jaw off the floor cognisant of the fact that it’s very unlikely we have a spare £100,000 + just waiting to be spent, H and hubby had more serious discussions and investigations as to how H could realise his end goal of becoming an airline pilot.

The plan is for H to train just like his Dad did: get a job in the real world to pay for exams, flight training, hour building etc over the next 2-3 years. It’s not the easiest route but it’s a considerable saving on dedicated flight schools and his sense of achievement ultimately will be enormous.

H has also been extremely fortunate that due to the generosity of grandparents he’s able to do a ‘crash course’ (definitely not a good choice of words but can’t think of a better one!) and do his private licence over a month this summer. He’s taken 8 of the 9 ground school exams, passing a number with 100%.

Given that between revising for a-level exams he read through the 9 tomes of aviation law, navigation, radios, meteorology etc for ‘fun’ and relaxation, he’s already showing dedication and determination beyond his tender years. (NB, have made a note to talk to him about his understanding of the word fun!)

Already in the face of adversity, H has had to overcome some hard times. Last September when undergoing his very important application for a Class 1 Aviation medical, he very unexpectedly hit a huge brick wall: despite being merely 17, seemingly fit as the proverbial butcher’s dog – he cycles regularly, goes walking for fun(!) and hikes in the Dales, tests showed an issue with his heart.

Initially he believed it was an error on the machines part (youthful exuberance) but further investigations revealed a progressive heart condition. He was devastated as were we.

No amount of consoling that at least this had been detected early could reassure him. For H, it potentially meant the end of his dreams in pursuing a career in aviation

As a mother, all I could think was how, why and what happens now?? Your heart is a *fairly* important bit of kit….

The cardiologist we consulted was excellent and there followed a round of extensive medical testing to find out how serious things were (are). Sleepless nights for me at least whilst we waited for results.

The good news is that whilst the condition is progressive in nature, he should have years ahead of him, symptom free.

He will be regularly monitored and scanned and eventually medication will control the symptoms. Based on present medical knowledge he will at some point need surgical intervention but we are talking far in the future and with medical knowledge, procedures and equipment evolving at lightning speeds, who can say what the future will bring.

Nonetheless, H was rejected for a Class 1 medical and caveats issued alongside this meant he couldn’t even pursue a private pilots licence. H has always been a positive person but this knocked the stuffing out of him.

After taking time to let the news sink in, we decided not to take this as a fait acclompi. H and Mr DNTW’s consorted with aviation medical and legal experts.

I’ll spare you the ins & outs but it became apparent that if this hadn’t been H’s initial medical licence application, he could have been issued a licence with restrictions (no flying with anyone over 65 or a fellow pilot with medical restrictions) so effectively, the refusal to issue his licence was penalising him for something that hadn’t happened and was/is unlikely to be an issue for many years to come!

As ‘luck’ would have it, another would be pilot had been declined his medical for a different condition for issues that are unlikely to be problematic potentially ever. He was in the process of pursuing his case at the court of human rights.

The Civil Aviation authority agreed to concede before it got to that level and thus opened the floodgates for others in similar situations. H was advised to appeal the decision and after a nail-biting few months he was issued a licence with restrictions.

He is under no illusions that this does complicate matters a little but if air travel and the airline industry continues to expand as predicted, there will be a shortage of airline pilots in the years ahead. (Brexit of course is an unknown, unquantifiable potential source of concern – & not just to the Government! 😏)

So H has made the decision to pursue a flying career and if all goes as it should will have achieved his private pilots licence in the next 2 weeks!! Eek.

As I type, H is preparing for his last exam, another day of navigational flight planning and cross country flying. He’s earned his first set of ‘stripes’ – epaulettes – and is proving that he’s a force to be reckoned with!

I have no doubts that H will achieve his goals professionally and personally in the years to come because of his hard work, determination & drive to always do his best. Now if only that could also be applied to ironing his uniform…..❣️