HIGH Camp’s Daniel Fleming became one of Australia’s youngest pilots earlier this month, completing his solo flying licence at age 15.
Daniel has always had an interest in flying and has been taking lessons since age 11.
His 21-year-old brother is part of the Royal Australian Air Force, RAAF, and has inspired Mr Fleming to follow a similar path.
Daniel’s mother Heather Smith said his progress had been a memorable experience.
“He’s always wanted to be in the Air Force, and [the instructor] basically told him when he was 11 that ‘as long as you can see over the dash, you can fly’,” she said.
“In the last six months he’s pretty much been flying every weekend. He’s big into sports so when COVID shut that all down, he was still able to take lessons between lockdowns.”
Daniel has been taught by experienced instructor Neville Boyle since he first started learning to fly.
He was also chosen by Member for Euroa Steph Ryan to be honoured with the Weary Dunlop Award in primary school.
The next step in Daniel’s flying career will be to sit his navigation exam, however he must complete five hours of solo flying around Bendigo before he is eligible.
“He’s too young to drive a car but he’s just completed his first solo flight at Bendigo,” Ms Smith joked.
“It just shows that as I’ve said, if you put your mind to it and put in the hard work, you can do anything.”
Daniel hopes to follow in the footsteps of his brother in the Air Force, who is currently stationed at Tindal RAAF Base in the Northern Territory.
