(1) Cadet Master Sgt. Lydia Fairchild runs cables for a plane under construction.
(2) The cadet’s solo challenge coin.
(3) Cadet Master Sgt. Lydia Fairchild.
(4) Coming in for landing on her solo flight.
(5) Finished painting the hold short line.
(6) Atop an Alaskan glacier.
1st Lt. Richard Fairchild
Assistant Public Affairs Officer
New York Wing
NEW YORK – Learning to fly is quite a feat in itself.
For Cadet Master Sgt. Lydia Fairchild, though, flying is only the beginning, thanks to her ultimate goal – becoming a missionary pilot.
For the second summer in a row, Fairchild spent 10 weeks at a missionary air base, Kingdom Air Corps, in Sutton, Alaska, northeast of Anchorage. In addition to learning how to become a pilot, she grappled with the sort of work it takes to become a missionary -- from chopping down trees to create a runway to mowing grass landing strips, cooking meals for 40 people, preparing teaching materials and so much more.
The 16-year-old Owego Composite Squadron member also learned to maintain aircraft in the field in areas handy repair facilities may not exist. She also learned to take apart and put a plane back together, then have it fly.
All those lessons were put into practice by flying more than 500 miles due north and spending two weeks above the Arctic Circle working with Eskimo children.
Fairchild was well prepared for the aerial aspect of the adventure before she arrived. Even before becoming legal to drive on the roads, she was already pursuing another type of license — one for the sky.
On June 26 she took to the sky in a Cessna 152 all alone. It was her first solo flight.
On Oct. 22, when she turns 17, Fairchild will be qualified to test for her pilot’s license. If she passes she’ll become part of a rare breed — the estimated 2 percent of certified pilots in the U.S. who are teenagers, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Fairchild is already used to being in a distinct minority – she was the only teenage pilot at Kingdom Air Corps.
Not that she minded. She was looking for something different to do during the summer -- something that will become an important part of her life.
“It is what I want to do with my life; besides, it’s fun to do,” Fairchild said.
FAA regulations allow pilots to fly a plane at any age. At 16 they are allowed to fly by themselves, without a flight instructor or passengers, though they must be at least 17 and have accumulated a minimum of 40 hours of flight instruction to obtain a recreational pilot’s certificate or a private pilot’s certificate.
This school year, Fairchild worked very hard to complete ground school with the help of her flight instructor, Neil Lawton. She also managed some local flying out of Tri-Cities Airport in Broome County.
Not only did she complete the ground training before leaving for Alaska, but she passed her FAA written exam with an 88 percent score, underwent her FAA medical exam and received her student pilot’s license.
So far she has completed more than 30 hours of in-flight instruction, including her solo flying in Alaska.
In addition to flying, she has learned how to complete a preflight inspection – including checking the oil level, checking the fuel to make sure there’s no condensation seeping into the tank and inspecting the wheels for wear and tear.
But before Fairchild even begins the preflight, she checks the weather on a government Web site to determine if conditions are favorable for flying -- because in the air, knowledge of the weather is critical.
It’s all quite a lot for a 16-year-old to take on, but she is well on her way to realizing her dream, and the population of certified teenage – and missionary – pilots appears destined to increase by one.
