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Photo: Karleen Minney Courtesy Queanbeyan Age. 

We congratulate Jade Esler, Merici College Year 10, on receiving her recreational pilot Licence on Saturday 17 June. Jade also celebrated her 16th birthday on the same day. Jade is the youngest pilot in Australia and plans to continue her aviation training, aiming to receive her Commercial Pilots Licence on her 18th birthday. Here is Jade’s story.
“I have always been in and around aeroplanes. When I was 2, my dad got his private pilot’s licence and I would be strapped into the back seat of the plane with my headset, dead to the world, on the way to the latest flyaway. When I was 5, my dad let me sit in the front of the plane and hold the controls, I loved it. I was always curious as to what was going on, every time that Dad would take me up, he would teach me what a different instrument did.
By the time I was 7 I knew what everything did and how it worked. When we went on holidays, flying was always my favourite part. I made my parents get to the airport really early so that I could sit on the ground and watch the planes for hours. It was no surprise that I wanted to be a pilot, none at all! It was in my blood! Both my grandfathers and my dad are pilots and aviation fanatics. Most kids play ‘I spy’ on road trips, we played ‘say the car’s number plates in the phonetic alphabet’.
In August 2014, my mum saw a lady selling cupcakes at a market stall. I had always loved cooking and baking so she thought it might be a fun thing for me to try. I took up the challenge immediately and after an initial setback, the Sugar Bite, my cupcake business, was up and running. In December that year, my dad pointed out that I had enough money to do a few flying lessons and that he would be happy to take me to his old instructor in Cowra. I happily and excitedly obliged and we went down to Fly Oz for my first lesson. The second I got into the plane I knew that this was something I wanted to do. I couldn’t wipe the smile from my face and all I wanted to do was to get back up into the air. Since that first lesson and the inception of Sugar Bite, I have flown over 30 hours and sold over
20,000 cupcakes at weddings, parties, corporate events, engagement parties and my regular markets. My business is rapidly increasing, which means I have been able to afford more flying lessons. I still manage to keep myself organised and on top of my school work, maintaining my grades, while wrestling all of this madness.
I turned 15 on Friday June 17. This in itself was not a big deal but it meant that I was legally old enough to fly solo and at 8:30 that morning, that was exactly what I did. The day was wet and gloomy, luckily, finding a break in the weather, I jumped in the plane with my instructor for a final check. We did three circuits with the eyes of four Sunrise (Channel 7) television cameras watching us before I taxied in to let him jump out. With a final good luck, I taxied out to the end of the runway, more nervous than I had ever been before. As soon as I applied full power for take-off, all of my nerves disappeared and I settled into the natural routine of circuit flying. Six minutes later I landed the plane and started to taxi back to the airport. The feeling of wonder and accomplishment came rushing as I jumped out of the plane. I gave my brothers a hug and quickly got out of the rain.
On the following Monday morning, I appeared on Channel 7’s Sunrise Morning Show with a prime time segment about my first solo flight. With an intro played to ‘Top Gun’ music and then a live cross to me and my dad standing in front of a plane for an interview, it was lots of fun and the resulting segment turned out really well.
During this year my cupcake business has continued to grow so that I can progress with my flying training and career. Most recently I was one of four pilots to receive an Airservice-sponsored Australian Women Pilots’ association flight training scholarship valued at $8,000. The scholarships offer flight training opportunities by assisting the women with the cost of gaining proficiency at any level of flying, from early stages of training through to a commercial pilot’s licence.
My plan now is to obtain my Private Pilot’s licence on my 17th birthday and my Commercial Pilot’s licence on my 18th birthday. I am also planning to fund my university studies by teaching people to fly, before moving on to become a commercial airline
pilot as soon as possible.”
On behalf of the Merici College community we wish Jade continued success in all her endeavours and may she be inspired by the words and actions of St Angela Merici, to “challenge people to love life, have hope, be faithful and build futures more wondrous than you dare to dream”.

Mrs Loretta Wholley
Principal