Penn Township teen an official driver … of land, air and sea vehicles
When Luke Posey gets an idea, it’s best to just get out of his way.
The 16-year-old rising Knoch sophomore, of Penn Township, is an admitted go-getter, which is a fact his mother, Tricia Posey, corroborates.
So when the affable teen set a goal to try and get his learner’s permit, student pilot certificate and state boating card on or near his 16th birthday on June 18, no one doubted he would do it.
“I got my learner’s permit and pilot certificate on my 16th birthday, so I thought I might as well get three,” Luke said. “I got my boating certificate a few days before, because I didn’t know if I could get all of them in one day.”
Luke lives just a hop, skip and a jump from the Pittsburgh-Butler Regional Airport, so his family rented a single-engine plane from AirQuest Aviation, which has a flying school at the airport.
He explained a certain number of flying hours are not required to get the student pilot certificate, but potential pilots must be endorsed by a certified flight instructor to fly a plane before earning the certificate.
“The (student pilot certificate) means I can fly a plane on my own, and that’s what I did on my 16th birthday,” Luke said.
Luke, who took many lessons at AirQuest before earning his certificate, cannot have passengers while flying with his student pilot certificate.
“It’s similar to a driver’s permit,” he said.
Luke must get his certificate re-endorsed every 90 days until he decides to get his pilot’s license, which he can test for at age 17.
“I plan to get my pilot’s license on my 17th birthday, which is the fastest way you can do that,” he said.
He said because his flight instructor told him that unless something dire happens, he’s not touching the controls, Luke was accustomed to flying on his own when he took his first solo flight on his birthday.
Luke had to perform three landings to get the certificate.
“The first landing was a little nerve-wracking, but the second and third weren’t that bad,” he said.
Luke even experienced the tradition of having his shirttail cut off by his flight instructor, which is a timeless tradition for those who have just taken their first solo flight.
Before headsets and radios allowed instructors and students to communicate, instructors would tug on their student’s shirttail to get their attention and provide instruction.
The ritual of cutting off the new pilot’s shirttail symbolizes the student’s new independence from his instructor. The piece of cloth is then hung in the airport where the solo flight was taken.
After he gets his pilot’s license in the future, Luke wants to go for his instrument rating status once he is eligible.
“I don’t know yet what I want to do for a career, but I think flying will always be something going on in my life, no matter what,” Luke said.
Tricia Posey said she wasn’t too nervous when Luke went for his student pilot certificate.
“I was thrilled for him,” she said. “It’s been something he’s been working for. I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was anxious and a little bit nervous, but I’ve been taking him to lessons for two-and-a-half years.”
She said her son has always been interested in the planes flying over their neighborhood en route to or leaving the Pittsburgh-Butler Regional Airport.
“When Luke was little, he was always interested in them,” Tricia Posey said. “He likes to learn new things, so the two kind of clicked.”
On the same day, Luke seated himself before a computer screen at the drivers license center in Butler to take the test that he hoped would result in being handed his stated Department of Transportation learner’s permit.
“I felt prepared with my flying, and I wasn’t too nervous about that, and the same with boating, but believe it or not, I was most nervous about the driving permit test,” he said.
He did some driving on his birthday, but has been too busy to practice behind the wheel since then.
Asked whether his mom or his dad, Bill, is the better teacher, Luke sidestepped the question.
“Ooh, I don’t know if I want to answer that one,” he said.
Regarding the boating card, Luke said he decided to get his certification because his parents had just purchased a 21-foot, 350 horsepower Supra Sunsport.
The boat is in a slip at the family’s home on Conneaut Lake in Crawford County.
“My dad grew up on the river and wanted to teach me to boat,” Luke said. “I also want to learn to water ski and wake board.”
He explained that those born after 1982 do not need any document to operate a boat, but those who were born after that can get a boating certification — known as a boating card — that allows the operation of a boat or purchase of a Jet Ski or other water craft.
