Pilot license: Grove City high schooler Isaac Carter to attend elite Navy summer flight academy
Most students still in high school look forward to summer vacation.
When he returns to Grove City High School in the fall, current junior Isaac Carter will have a private pilot's license issued by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Carter is one of only 20 high-performing juniors and seniors from throughout the United States selected to participate in the U.S. Navy Summer Flight Academy at Delaware State University in Dover, Delaware, from June 12 to Aug. 5, according to a Navy news release.
"I think it's a great opportunity," Carter said. "I think the whole experience is going to help me build my resume and I'll have my private pilot's license. That I'm grateful for, and grateful for my parents (Kevin and Alicia Carter) for being supportive of me."
The Department of the Navy sponsors the Summer Flight Academy for students participating in Navy and Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps, the release said.
The Navy partners with select universities throughout the country to provide the flight training, a $24,000 value provided to the students at no cost, the release said.
Participants in the programs were selected from among about 600 Junior Navy ROTC programs, said Dustin Martin, adviser to the GCHS Navy Junior ROTC. About eight members of the local Junior ROTC applied, Martin said.
Carter said the application process included a physical fitness test and an online exam covering math, science and reasoning.
Martin said Carter is captain of the GCHS football and wrestling teams, and has a roughly 4.5 grade-point average. He will be the senior ranking Junior ROTC cadet in the fall.
"He's kind of like a superstar," Martin said.
While he has flown in commercial jetliners, Carter said he hasn't yet been airborne in a single-engine plane, the type that will be used in the Summer Flight Academy.
That will change by the fall, he said.
He's scheduled to spend 47 hours in the cockpit of single-engine planes, including 17 hours flying solo.
Carter said his goal is to gain admission to one of the four main U.S. services academies – the U.S. Naval Academy, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, the U.S. Air Force Academy or the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.
Failing that, he said, he would work for a ROTC scholarship in one of the military programs – preferably the Navy's, if possible – to achieve his goal of becoming a commissioned officer.
After learning of his acceptance to the flight academy in December, Carter said his mother bought him a flight simulator for Christmas.
The flight academy has been sending Carter material to read in advance of the flight classes and mentioned a flight simulator as a valuable resource, he said.
The possibility of a career in aviation was something Carter said he had not considered until Miller told him about the flight academy entrance competition in November.
"But now I am thinking of it as a legit career for me," he said.
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This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Pilot license: Grove City high schooler Isaac Carter to attend elite Navy summer flight academy
