Sophia takes to the air
When Sophia passed her Civil Aviation Authority test she became one of the youngest qualified pilots in the UK. At 16 years old she was too young to drive a car or ride a motorbike – but she could fly a helicopter!
Sophia’s interest in helicopters started when her family made a trip of a lifetime to Everest Base Camp, on the world’s largest mountain, two years ago.
“We were fortunate to have a helicopter take us partway down the mountain and it was amazing. It was the first time I’d been in a helicopter, and I came off it with the biggest smile ever. I said to my dad, ‘I love this, could I possibly do a bit more?’
“He got me a trial lesson at Goodwood Aerodrome and I absolutely loved it. I was so lucky – I managed to get some sponsorship for my licence and a loan from dad, which I’m working on paying back to him.”
Sophia was born with a cleft palate. With mum Elissa, and dad Richard, she raised £750 for CLAPA on their Everest trip.
She said that, without the support of CLAPA and her NHS Cleft Team, she wouldn’t have passed her helicopter test, or had the confidence to try.
“If my speech wasn’t as good as it is now I wouldn’t be able to do this – I wouldn’t have had the confidence, and be able to speak clearly on the helicopter radio.”
“If my speech wasn’t as good as it is now I wouldn’t be able to do this – I wouldn’t have had the confidence, and be able to speak clearly on the helicopter radio.”
“I had lots of operations when I was young, and thanks to the surgeries, tons of speech therapy, and with my public speaking lessons, my speech has improved completely, and anyone I talk to would never know I was born with a cleft palate.
“I’ve listened to some recordings of when I was younger, and it’s amazing to hear how different I was. I used to find it difficult to hear myself pronounce words, and thought I was saying things absolutely fine when everyone else said it didn’t sound right.”
“I remember at school, even when my speech was pretty good but I was tired, I would relax into not speaking properly. Friends at school asked, ‘what are you saying? I have no idea what you’re saying’, even though I was hearing it correctly. It was very frustrating.”
“I had lots of operations when I was young, and thanks to the surgeries, tons of speech therapy, and with my public speaking lessons, my speech has improved completely, and anyone I talk to would never know I was born with a cleft palate.”
Sophia’s helicopter test included a radio exam, which she passed with flying colours. Her full training included 55 hours of flying tuition and 10 exams before a final exam.
“There was a lot of heavy books to read and it was difficult at times, but I really wanted to do it, so I stuck with it.”
To pass the test she had to fly and navigate a helicopter on her own, and land at three airports – Fairoaks, Shoreham and Goodwood.
On her 17th birthday in December, she officially picked up her helicopter pilot licence, and can now hire a helicopter and technically fly around the world, so long as she doesn’t go into ‘Class A’ airspace.
Sophia is now studying A Level maths, physics and photography and has her sights set on studying engineering at university, to help pursue her helicopter passion.
“My end goal is to become a commercial helicopter pilot – there’s a load more training and exams that I have to do for that. But I’m determined to get there.”
Sophia’s helicopter adventures can be followed on her new website: www.whirlybird.life
