The air up there
Garrison teen gets private pilot license
By JAMES C. FALCON
editors@bhgnews.com
If Carson Calhoun were to walk into a car rental business, he would be turned down.
However, the eighteen-year-old from Garrison, has a different mode of transportation on his mind: the airplane — and he would have no trouble getting one.
On Aug. 19, which was coincidentally National Aviation Day, the Garrison youth earned his Private Pilot Certificate, his license that allows him to fly an airplane.
“I can legally go rent and fly a plane at 17, but I can’t rent a car until I’m 25,” Calhoun said.
While it isn’t unusual to see an 18-year-old get their pilot’s license, it is something you don’t usually see in smaller towns, Calhoun pointed out.
“Aviation depends on how the entire U.S. economy and the world economy are doing,” he said. “Right now, it’s starting to boom. You’re starting to see young people — 17 to 25-year-olds — really get into aviation.”
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, to be eligible for a student pilot certificate, one would need to be at least 16 years old.
Calhoun’s interest in flying took off at an early age.
