Solo Milestone — Finley Taylor

Solo Milestone — Finley Taylor

Finley Taylor, EAA Lifetime 1436312, accomplished a massive milestone on his 16th birthday by soloing not one, but four airplanes!

“My goal was to solo as many airplanes as possible on my birthday and I wasn’t really shooting for a specific number,” Finley said. “I was just trying to get prepared and be ready to fly as many airplanes as I possibly could.”

Finley’s interest in flying began at a very young age, and he credits his grandfather, Richard Taylor, for sparking that interest.

“My grandpa [late EAA Director Richard W. Taylor] and I used to have breakfast together when I was very young,” Finley said. “We would discuss airplanes and talk about how airplane systems worked. My grandpa owned a Piper Aerostar, which is my earliest memory of flying.”

While it was Finley’s grandfather who sparked the interest, it was his father, Steve Taylor, who encouraged him to start lessons.

“I have wanted to take flight lessons ever since I was a little kid and I probably have close to 1,000 hours of non-logged right seat time flying with my dad,” Finley said. “I had already seen my dad do so much flying, so the hurdle was just to start taking lessons.”

Of course, 13 years of attending AirVenture was also a huge inspiration to Finley wanting to become a pilot.

“I am involved with EAA by attending AirVenture every year I can,” Finley said. “I am 16, and I have been to 13 Oshkosh’s. It’s truly my second home and that has continued to be one of my highlights of every year.”

Early on September 6, Finley set off to solo a Republic SeaBee.

“The first airplane I soloed on my 16th birthday was our Republic SeaBee, near our home on Lake Sammamish, Washington,” Finley said. “It was early morning, with overcast clouds and a smooth lake. I went out and did five landings with my instructor, and my dad came up with the boat, and the instructor got off. I gave my dad a fist bump, and I closed the door. I departed off the lake, got about 20 feet off of the water, then stretched out and realized, I’m really doing this! After flying so much with my dad in the SeaBee, it was really cool to be able to fly by myself.”

Later that same day, Finley went to Cawleys South Prairie (02WA) to solo a J-3 Cub and Aeronca Champ, then to Tacoma Narrows (TIW) to solo a Cessna 172.

“My dad soloed on his 16th in a Super Cub, so it felt really cool to have my first land solo be in a Cub as well,” Finley said. “The next airplane I flew was a J-3 Cub on a grass runway. It was really special to be able to fly a J-3 Cub on my birthday. It’s such a cool and special airplane, it was a great opportunity. Next, I soloed an Aeronca Champ, also on grass. Then we headed to Tacoma Narrows where I soloed a 172.”

Coming as no surprise, Finley has equally impressive goals for his 17th birthday.

“I plan to take my private, single-engine land, single-engine sea, multi-engine land, and possibly even instrument checkrides on my 17th birthday,” Finley said.

Finley said his goal for the future is to make a career for himself in aviation.

“…My goal has always been that I want to be paid to fly airplanes for a living, whether that be in flight test, commercial, or corporate,” Finley said. “I’m grateful for every opportunity that I get, and I’m keeping my horizons broad.”

Congratulations again, Finley! Watch the video of Finley soloing four airplanes here.

Have you reached a milestone recently? Passed a checkride, given your first or hundredth Young Eagles flight, flown your homebuilt for the first time? Tell us about it at EAA.org/Submissions.

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Christina, EAA 1299943, is EAA’s multimedia journalist. She is a passionate aviation enthusiast, bookworm, and photography-obsessed nature nut. Email Christina at cbasken@eaa.org.