Pilot Thomas Gillis has reached new heights in his young career.
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The 15-year-old has recently completed his first passenger endorsement flight with 88-year-old Patsy Day in tow.
Mrs Day volunteered to teach Thomas and his fellow students how to read when he was a student at Penrose Public School.
Thomas has now repaid the favour by taking Mrs Day on a memorable journey from Goulburn to Lake Bathurst and back.
Thomas undertook his first passenger endorsement test at Goulburn Airport at the beginning of June.
There was a crowd of about 20 supporters at the airport to support Thomas and Mrs Day as they took to the skies.
Thomas' day involved setting up the plane, conducting checks and preparing Mrs Day for the flight.
When Thomas initially took off from Goulburn he initially thought the flight would be about half an hour but the two enjoyed the experience so much it ended up being more than an hour.
Thomas flew to Lake Bathurst and took in all of the scenery from the air with Mrs Day.
When Thomas and Mrs Day arrived back at Goulburn Airport, Thomas did a flyby past the crowd before he landed the plane.
Thomas said the flight was an opportunity that Mrs Day had volunteered for years ago.
"It must've been four years ago that she put her hand to be the first passenger," he said.
"It was really special to be able to take her up. It was a pretty big day in my list of days."
Thomas' ultimate goal is to take more passengers up to the sky. "My very final goal would be to become a commercial pilot. It's quite a long road," he said.
The next step on Thomas' journey towards reaching his goal is the navigation test.
Some of the tasks include preparing a flight plan with details such as how much fuel the plane will burn through, the direction the plane is going in and planning a safe route from A to B.
Thomas said he became fascinated by aviation at an early age.
"Since I was one or two mum has always tried to take us overseas to Scotland [to visit family]," he said.
"I think the appeal is being in the air and being able to take off from Sydney and land somewhere completely different."
Following the flight with Mrs Day, Thomas also took his brother up for a flight in the plane.
Thomas' passengers are sure to be in good hands.
The 15-year-old has undertaken extensive training in order to reach the point where he can welcome passengers aboard.
Thomas first got involved in flying small aircraft at the age of 12 after his grandparents from Scotland gave him a trial introductory flight at Camden for his birthday.
The Highlander then did another flight on his 13th birthday and on his 14th birthday decided to have lessons every two weeks so he could perform a solo flight after he turned 15 last year.
Before Thomas took flight with Mrs Day he had to understand how to fly, get his flying hours up, pass six exams and a practical test then obtain his recreational pilot certificate.
This led to Thomas completing his first solo flight unaccompanied at the age of 15.
A few months afterwards he did flew his training area solo flying away from the airport, performing circuits in the air. T
homas encouraged other young people who had an interest in flying to do their research and give it a try.
"I would say try and locate your nearest flying school, there's a few around [such as Goulburn Airport and Bankstown Airport]," he said.
"Go down and have a trial introductory flight.
"They'll take you up give you and idea of what it's like. That helps you understand what it feels like."
