Schoolboy becomes qualified pilot after building flight simulator in his bedroom
He is not yet old enough to vote, but already Tom Hall can safely land an aeroplane at New York’s JFK Airport in a lightning storm.
And when he feels like taking to the skies, Scotland’s youngest qualified pilot just pops into his parents’ spare bedroom and takes the controls of his own flight simulator.
The 17-year-old’s success in earning his wings was helped by the self-built £5,500 virtual cockpit, complete with instrument panels and a so-called ‘butt-kicker’ special effect.
With the help of his DIY cockpit, 17-year-old Tom Hall has become Scotland's youngest qualified pilot
The Perth High School pupil’s efforts paid off when he qualified for a private pilot’s licence (PPL) last month, becoming the youngest Scot ever to do so.
Speaking at his home in Perth yesterday, Tom said: ‘I usually spend about three hours a week in the simulator, but about five hours a week when flying tests are coming up. I do it after school.
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‘It’s really realistic. My friends always beg me to get a shot on it, it’s much better than an Xbox.’
Recalling how he first got bitten by the aviation bug, he said: ‘My parents bought me a trial lesson at Tayside Aviation for my tenth birthday. I really enjoyed it and decided then that I wanted to become a pilot.
It took Tom eight months to build his cockpit out of MDF (his dad may have helped a little bit)
'When I turned 14, I could officially start to log my hours towards my licence and this was when I really began to take it seriously. I tried to have a flying lesson every month.’
As he worked towards his PPL, he came up with the idea of building his simulator.
This consists of a hand-crafted MDF cockpit containing a projector and authentic controls hooked up to a PC running a flight simulation program.
The controls were specially imported from Switzerland, while a ‘butt kicker’ in the pilot’s chair enhanced the ‘flight’ experience.
Young Tom spends between 3-5 hours a week in the simulator, honing his piloting skills
This rumbles the seat whenever Tom performs manoeuvres or makes a landing.
Though the teenager had a little help from his father Geoffrey, 47, he mostly built the simulator himself over an eight-month period.
Tom completed it six months ago using funds raised by selling off his prized collection of model planes, and by writing reviews of flight simulator programs for a number of websites.
Tom, who completed his first solo flight on his 16th birthday said: ‘I always dreamed of flying solo on my 16th birthday, which is the youngest age possible to achieve this.
‘In December 2010, this dream was achieved and I managed to do my first solo flight without an instructor being in the aircraft. It was so exciting.’
Tom qualified for a private pilot's licence (PPL) last month and now hopes to become a commercial pilot
Gaining his PPL means Tom can not only fly solo, but he can carry passengers.
He said: ‘To gain my PPL I had to pass seven written exams covering a vast amount of subjects, from air law and meteorology to human performance, plus I also had the pressure of studying for my school exams at the same time.
‘As soon as I was told that I’d passed, I was on cloud nine as I’d finally achieved my dream.’
Tom’s mother Dawn, 45, an estate agent, said: ‘I’m so proud of him. We gave him some money, but he generally saved up birthday money and held car boot sales.’
The virtual cockpit costs £5,500, and comes complete with working instrument panels
His civil servant father said their neighbours were not bothered by sounds of roaring aircraft engines: ‘It’s not that loud when you’re outside the room but when he turns on the butt-kicker you hear it a bit.’
Tom’s ambition is to become a commercial pilot but he will have to raise the £40,000 required for training.
A spokesman for Tayside Aviation in Dundee, where Tom sat his tests, said: ‘Tom is as keen as mustard and has been from the moment he came in here.’
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