Can a 10 year old learn to fly a plane?

Parents of younger children ask this question in some cases hoping that they can get an enthusiastic youth off of their back, in other cases because they would like to get their child up and flying. The short answer to the question is that there is no minimum age for a child to begin learning to fly.



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No particular age is considered the “best” age to become a pilot. In the U.S., you can earn a student pilot certificate beginning at age 16, a private pilot certificate at age 17, and commercial pilot at age 18 — but these are minimums, not maximums!

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In the U.S., there are no FAA age limits for pilots except for commercial airline pilots employed by airlines certificated under 14 CFR Part 121.

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In general, doctors recommend you wait to fly until your baby's immune system is better developed. This could be as soon as one month for full-term infants, though most doctors recommend anywhere between three months and six months.

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This benefit varies from airline to airline. Family members may fly free when space is available or at discounted rates. Flying stand-by is a common benefit, but it can be challenging when there is a group. Some airlines provide “buddy passes” to pilots to share with friends and families.

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Most airplanes are designed to fly for at least a couple of decades, and potentially much more (though the 70+ year career of the DC-3 is an outlier). And to truly understand aircraft age you need to look at two factors beyond age: flight hours and pressurization cycles.

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In the U.S., there are no FAA age limits for pilots except for commercial airline pilots employed by airlines certificated under 14 CFR Part 121. These airlines cannot employ pilots after they reach the age of 65. However, these pilots may stay on with a Part 121 carrier in some other role, such as flight engineer.

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