REEDSBURG, Wis. — Most 16-year-olds look forward to getting their driver’s licenses, but a different mode of transportation came first for a Reedsburg teenager.
As recently as two years ago, aviation wasn’t on Aysia Lawrence’s radar.
“I didn’t even have my driver’s license when I started flying… I just started driving in the beginning of August,” she said. “I remember doing a flight to California when I was 14 and I was like, ‘I would like to travel and be on a plane but I don’t think I could be a pilot,’ I remember telling my parents that, and look at me now, now I’m flying planes.”
As one of the nation’s youngest pilots, in some ways, her age helped her.
When Zach Shaha started training Lawrence when she was 15 years old, it was uncharted territory for him too.
“Aysia’s the youngest student I’ve had,” he said. “She started flying when she was 15 with me. I use driving as a reference for a lot of stuff.”
Shaha said her youth helped her learn faster. Not knowing how to drive also helped her avoid some common aviation mistakes.
After she graduates high school one year early, Aysia plans on becoming an Army pilot and a commercial pilot afterward.
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