As children, most people have tried jumping off something in hopes that they could fly. For one local youth, her dream of flying is finally happening.Cheyenne Smith, likely one of those people attempting to fly when she was younger, has begun flying after being accepted into the Cadet Private Pilot Scholarship Course.The 17-year-old from Squamish is currently training at the Victoria Flying Club on Vancouver Island, one of the three locations offering the course which is already underway and runs until August 19th.Upon successful completion of the course, Smith will receive her Cadet Pilot Wings and Transport Canada Private Pilot Licence something shes had her eyes on since she started cadets five years ago.It wasnt really a question when I was younger, I always knew that I would end up flying somehow, said Smith. I joined Air Cadets to get my pilots license, its been a dream pretty early on.Joining was an easy decision for her to make because both her parents are leaders in her cadet squadron.Ive been around the program since I was like five or six so I guess it kind of runs in the family, Smith said.Over 70 cadets applied for the scholarship and after a lengthy application process which included a number of stages to advance through, Smith was one of only 36 to be accepted into the course.Its a really hard course to get into and its really exciting to be in it with a bunch of amazing people, she said. Its a very big work load but its really fun because you get to fly every day, but theres a lot of class work involved as well.Smith is used to flying gliders in her cadets program, but this course teaches how to fly using Cessna 172s. Un-phased by the larger aircrafts, she said its almost the same as flying in a glider, just a lot louder with the ability to go up.Smith will be entering grade 12 this coming school year and because of her yearning to help others, shes already made her choice of what to pursue as soon as she graduates.I want to be a doctor but I want to be able to help out in northern villages so I want to be able to fly there, she said.For Smith, the next few weeks are going to be focused on graduating from the course and spending as much time in the air doing what she loves flying, something she doesnt take for granted.You have a new respect for everything when you see it in the air, she said. When youre on the ground everything looks kind of normal, but when youre in the air, you have a new perspective that gives you a new respect for things.
