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Scout Woodcock’s love for flying came from her grandfather. Some of her earliest memories are from flights they took together in his float plane, and by the age of 5, she knew that she wanted to do the same as him.

“The passion he shows for aviation to this day continues to inspire me,” the Livermore teen said.

Now 17, Woodcock, a student at Kents Hill School and a cadet major with the Auburn-Lewiston Composite Squadron, became the youngest Maine Wing Civil Air Patrol cadet to earn a private pilot certificate through the organization’s Cadet Wings Program. She earned the certificate Aug. 6 after completing most of her powered flight training at Augusta State Airport and took her checkride at Pittsfield Municipal Airport with about 63 flight hours.

“It’s very impressive,” said Mark Hyland, wing commander of the Maine Civil Air Patrol. “A pilot’s license is very, very difficult. The Federal Aviation Association does not make this easy.”

The license means she can fly by herself or with passengers, but she cannot accept compensation. To get the license, she had to pass a written test and log a minimum of 40 hours of flight time with at least 20 of those hours with an instructor and 10 hours flying solo.

Woodcock said one of the biggest challenges was balancing flight training with the rest of her life.

“The most difficult part of training for me was the time commitment and balance,” she said. “While flying I was attending school, playing sports, volunteering, planning and attending Civil Air Patrol events, as well as juggling family life. Time management became really important while studying and flying.”

Maj. Mark Seitz, a certified flight instructor with the Augusta Squadron, said Maine winter weather, aircraft availability, scheduling and other delays also complicated Woodcock’s training.

“Her determination paid off when she passed her check ride and became the youngest cadet in the Maine Wing to graduate from the Wings program,” Seitz said.

Woodcock started flying when she joined the Civil Air Patrol at age 12. 

She found Civil Air Patrol through the Greenville International Seaplane Fly-In, a yearly festival on Moosehead Lake. Civil Air Patrol is a national organization that has several squadrons in Maine. It conducts inland search-and-rescue missions across the country.

Woodcock joined the Youth Cadet program, which promotes flying for young children. Hyland said the program has around 190 cadets across the state but very few receive their private pilot’s license.

She continued her flight training at 15 when she went for a week to a glider academy in Vermont. It was the first time she flew by herself and could feel in control of a plane. The next summer, she went to Nebraska and learned how to fly an aircraft solo. 

“Those two weeks were the best experience of my life. That’s what I was working toward since I was 5,” she said.

She’s had a few scary moments, such as when she flew in Nebraska with an instructor and the plane’s propeller stopped spinning. But she doesn’t let the fear get to her.

Her favorite memory of flying is her first long cross-country flight — when a pilot flies 150 nautical miles round trip (around 172 miles) from their home airport. She flew from the Auburn-Lewiston Municipal Airport to the municipal field in Old Town. It was the longest trip she flew by herself and she could put everything she learned into practice.

“It’s so peaceful up there. I was all by myself,” she said. 

Now that she has her private pilot’s license, Woodcock is hoping to fly other types of aircraft.

“I hope to obtain my seaplane rating and continue to grow my passion for aviation, and to speak with others about the amazing opportunities I have been given,” Woodcock said. “Specifically, I want to inspire the next pilots of the Civil Air Patrol Cadet Program.”

She’s also applying to military academies, hoping that she receives a pilot’s slot so she can receive military pilot training. 

But first, she wants to take her grandfather on a flight.