Student Spotlight: Savanah Lipinski

Most students graduate from high school before obtaining a certification or degree to take their career to the next step. It may be a master’s degree or doctorate for some, but for Savanah Lipinski, it’s her private pilot’s license.

And she’s still in high school.

The current Northwestern High School senior and varsity athlete has always wanted to travel, so being able to fly just made sense to her, especially after talking to her father, Jake Lipinski, about what kind of careers seemed attractive after high school. Lipinski decided that becoming a pilot helped her further her goals; why not get paid for doing something she is passionate about?

After the decision was made, her father set up a discovery flight through the Experimental Aircraft Association at the Kokomo Municipal Airport. Just a few weeks later, Lipinski was in the air, for the first time ever. This would steer her towards embarking on her career as a private pilot, a large undertaking for anyone, let alone a high schooler. She was also able to qualify for a scholarship from the Experimental Aircraft Association that would cover half of the cost of earning her pilot’s license.

“You have to be 17 years old to get your license,” Lipinski says. “First you must get a medical certificate and pass your written examination. Then you have to have at least 40 hours of flight time, including three hours of cross-country, three hours of night training, 10 hours of solo flight time and five hours of solo cross-country.”

Additionally, Lipinski will have to pass her Federal Aviation Administration check ride, which is a practical test.

And when she does, she knows where she wants to go.

“My dream flying destination is Alaska,” she says. “I think it would be amazing to see the scenery throughout that flight.”

For now, her first solo flight was on May 15 in a Cessna 172, where she had to stay in a flight pattern just over the airport. The flight included three landings and three takeoffs, which, perhaps surprisingly, hasn’t been the most difficult part of training for her.

“The most challenging part is probably the ground school,” Lipinski says. “Getting the motivation to sit down and study has always been a challenge for me. It’s a lot to learn. After that I’m definitely most proud of getting my landings down. In the beginning it seemed like I could never get good landings, but one day it just all clicked.”

Although she hasn’t graduated to what many call the real world just yet, Lipinski has already gained real-world experience. She plans to attend Purdue or Indiana State to study aviation.

“There are many challenges when learning to fly an airplane, just like there are many challenges in life,” she says. “You have to make mistakes in both in order to learn.”