13-year-old in the pilot seat – literally

Michael Miele has been flying airplanes for two years, and he is only 13 years old.

The St. Davids Public School student and Niagara Wolves goalie took his first “fam flight” when he was 11.

Parents Paolo and Adriana Miele noticed early their son was interested in aviation, much like his great-grandfather who was a fighter pilot for the Italian air force. Michael spoke admiringly about family memorabilia, including his great-grandfather's aviator goggles and a photo of him in the air giving the thumbs up sign.

His parents purchased a familiarization flight through the St. Catharines Flying Club and the youngster was able to sit in the pilot’s seat and have the experience of taking control of the aircraft under the direct supervision of a flight instructor.

“I’ve been flying ever since,” said Michael, while chatting with The Local outside a hangar at the Niagara District Airport.

Since enroling in flight school, he has amassed 28 flying hours in a Piper Warrior II, a low-wing, single-engine airplane equipped with fixed tricycle landing gear. He goes as often as he can to the airport, and each lesson takes about an hour.

He and his flight instructor start in the hanger with “briefs,” when they talk about what they will be doing while in the air.

Next, before he enters the cockpit, he must complete a check of all the components on the outside of the plane to make sure everything is in good condition. He is familiar with all of the gauges and buttons in the cockpit and often has complete control of the aircraft, even during take off and landing, with a qualified instructor in the seat next to him.

In some lessons he completes “circuits” involving take-off, “going around and landing,” said Michael. Other times “we head east toward Hamilton.”  Lessons also involve understanding and using coordinates and maps. Most of his lessons so far have been in the air, but soon online ground school begins.

Michael admitted he used to have a fear of heights, but has managed to overcome it. For people who have anxiety about flying, he says it’s like riding a gentle “roller coaster. Take deep breaths,” and speak reassuringly to yourself, he suggested. “You’ll slowly calm down and then your body will get used to it.”

He loves everything about flying, he said. “Just being in the air is so much fun. You can see the whole entire world just beneath you. Honestly, it just feels special.”

What’s not fun is learning the 200-plus protocols used between pilot and air traffic control where the pilot has to state everything that she or he is doing. “So when we're out there, we have to say, like we're 10 miles away from the airport, we're going to be coming in on runway two-four,” for example.

Adriana has conflicting feelings about her son’s chosen hobby. “I'm so happy for him because he enjoys it so much. He has a big, big passion for flying, and initially I thought to myself, I must be crazy out of my mind.”

“For at least the first dozen times I would hug him before he took off, and when he was up there, I would literally pray. I just sit here and wait for him for the hour and just watch him circle. I think, ‘I can't help him when he's up there. I can't control it. I can't keep him safe. But yeah, he is in good hands.’”

The 'good hands' she is referring to is St. Catharines Flying Club flight instructor Reinaldo Lopes. Having earned his licence in the 80s, Lopes once thought about flying as a commercial pilot, but the industry required 4,000 flying hours and there were very few aviation jobs available.

Lopes has been an instructor since 2019. “Michael is my youngest student,” he said. “Most people learn to fly between the ages of 18 and as late as 50.”

“Michael has the enthusiasm. He really wants to do it,” said Lopes. “Which is good, because it’s a lot of work. There is a 70 per cent dropout rate.”

“It’s too bad he’s not old enough, because he is ready to go solo now,” added the flight instructor.

To fly solo, a pilot has to have flown for a minimum of 20 hours and be 14 years old. Michael’s birthday isn’t until September, but he is keen to learn as much as he can between now and then.

“After you do your solo, you work your way up to a recreational licence,” explained Michael. At age 16, this allows the pilot to fly with one additional person. At 17, a pilot can achieve a private class licence, enabling him or her to fly four people. The next step might be a commercial licence.

Michael sees a career in flying, perhaps starting with a small airline and working up to a larger one, maybe cargo or as a private pilot.

He has had only one minor mishap. Michael explained he was approaching for a landing, thinking “oh, this is going to be a really good landing because my instructor said this approach is perfect.”  When he touched down “the aircraft just slammed down onto my left side and my instructor said this is really bad.”

The hydraulic suspension had “blown out,” said Michael. “I thought, this is so much money. My parents are going have to pay for this. This is all my fault. They're never going to let me fly here again.”

It turned out it was a mechanical problem with the plane and his landing was indeed a good one.

It hasn’t affected his way of flying, Michael said. "I just try to stay as perfect as possible.”