Nathan on cloud nine after completing first solo flight

By Emmet McElhatton

e.mcelhatton@ulsterherald.com

LOCAL teenager, Nathan Taggart, is on cloud nine after becoming one of the youngest ever pilots to fly solo in Ireland or the UK.

The Omagh lad flew unaccompanied for the first time on his 16th birthday recently.

Nathan told UH that his first solo flight “was nerve-racking and exhilarating” in equal measure.

He said, “There is a point as you are propelling sky-ward when you look down and realise that the only thing between you and the abyss is everything you’ve learned and the plane you are sat in.”

The young pilot took off from an airfield in Tandragee, making his adrenaline-producing journey in a C42 microlite light aircraft, where he cruised at a ‘modest 1,000ft’ for around 20 minutes, before beginning his descent. Upon landing, he was greeted by a small crowd of cheering friends, family, and instructors.

Nathan has been at ease in the cockpit since he was 14, when he took his first flying lesson in Carrickmore.

SInce then he says, “I’ve just wanted to be in the air as much as possible.”

Taking to the sky on his 16th birthday last week, Nathan flew solo on the first day was he was legally eligible. The young Omagh man is looking forward to a career above the clouds, and wants to become a commercial pilot.

“It was nice to fly solo for the first time,” said Nathan. “But what’s more important to me is that I keep learning and eventually gather enough money and flying competence to become a commercial pilot.

“I knew when I was up there that this is what I want to do with my life.”