At age 10, Amy Spicer is not old enough to learn to drive but she is learning to fly.
The Year 6 South Lake student is also writing and publishing the magazine Girls Can Fly Anything.
She had her fourth magazine on display at last weekend’s Royal Aero Club of WA open day at Jandakot Airport.
“I love everything about flying from doing pre-flight safety checks to aerobatics,” she said.
“Flying is awesome. More girls should do aviation and through my magazine, Girls Can Fly Anything, I hope to show girls that aviation is an awesome career to choose.”
Amy has monthly flying lessons and radio lessons so she can communicate with the tower and other pilots.
She was recently featured on a Reuter’s TV segment on technology advocacy.
Only five per cent of pilots are women and Amy is advocating for many more to take up a flying career.
She will get to fly solo at age 15 after her instructor is confident of her skills.
Then she will be eligible for her private licence at 16, commercial pilot licence at 18 and airline transport pilot licence at 21.
Her mother Kylie said Amy first became interested in flying when she was two and a half years old when they were living under the flightpath of an airport in Brisbane
“I had to explain simply to Amy why planes did not flap their wings like birds,” Kylie said.
“I started with gliders and worked my way up to planes.”
Since that age Amy has wanted to become a pilot for the Royal Flying Doctor Service so she can make a difference to people’s lives.
“She has never let her ambition go,” Kylie said.
The open day drew a big crowd of flying enthusiasts despite the 37C heat.
Kylie said it was really buzzing.
Amy’s magazine is available online at girlscanflyanything.com
