Alberton teen cleared for take-off
In equal measure coveted and feared, Juan's first solo was a milestone. At the age of 17, he took to the skies and now there is no stopping this young man.
Juan Morton, a Grade 11 learner from Hoërskool Marais Viljoen High School, recently completed his first solo consolidation flight.
In 2017, he became fascinated with flying after watching a big aircraft fly over the Emirates Stadium while attending a rugby match.
“Seeing such a big object in the sky amazed me. I don’t remember anything about the rugby because I was too busy trying to figure out what type of plane it was,” said Juan.
The Alberton Record chatted to Juan about his first solo flight, his love for aircraft and his plans for the future.
A bird’s eye view
That day at Emirates Stadium changed his life. The more Juan researched, the more reality struck as he read and compared a picture to the plane he thought it was.
“The plane turned out to be a British Airways Airbus A380. This is the biggest airline transport aircraft in the world. When I saw the number of passengers the plane can hold, I realised the amount of responsibility pilots of those planes hold in their hands,” he said.
Since then looking at the sky became a routine for him, just to observe the high-flying metal birds.
“ I started recalling how the planes look and spent a lot of time on the internet researching about how to become an airline pilot.”
In 2018 for his birthday his mother, Denise, after listening to all his mumbling about aeroplanes, took him for an open day at Elite Aviation Academy.
After the presentation, Hein, a pilot took him for an intro flight where they flew over the Johannesburg CBD.
“On that day it was the first time I had my hands on an aircraft control column and fell in love in the seat of ZS-LCC, a Piper Archer 181. I think I drove my mom crazy about the fact that I could fly that plane for 10 minutes.
“At the time I was a bit short. I could not see over the aeroplane dashboard properly and had to fly sitting on a pillow,” he said.
“My mother booked me another flight about a month after the intro flight and that is where I met Nathaniel (Nate) Netshidsivane. He is probably the most open-minded pilot with guaranteed butter landings. He soon became my role model.
“We started making work of my dream to become a pilot. We bought a booster pillow for me to see over the dash and I started flying once or twice a month. He allowed me to fly from Rand Airport to the Johannesburg general flying area where he did some light training with me to start getting the hang of keeping the aircraft in the sky.
“I flew more and more and moved to another Piper aircraft. This was ZS-OIN, my favourite one of the three planes I flew at Elite. After a few months in 2019, I moved over to ZS-SPK, a Piper 161,” he explained.
Nothing holds him back
Then in 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic struck and Juan had to stop flying due to the lockdown regulations.
He stayed busy by flying on a flight simulator which helped him a lot.
“At the end of 2021, I was 15 and was finally old enough to get a student pilots license (SPL) to start writing my PPL exams and start flying. My first logbook flight was on January 5 in 2022 with Nate.
“When we landed after my first real training flight, my instructors advised me to start studying for my exams.“
Juan and his mother gathered study material and heard a lot of good comments and reviews about a website that helps pilots study. The website, Exam Revolution, is owned by Janus Engelbrecht.
“I started with his course and passed all seven of my exams on the first try.”
Juan said it is his dream to attend Janus’ flight school, Get Wings International, in Stellenbosch to get his CPL and ATPL when he finishes matric.
“I moved to another flight school for financial reasons. I enrolled at Johannesburg Flying Academy and flew my first flight in a Sling 2, ZU-FWD, with Captain Warren Jones.
“Warren is meant to be in an aircraft and loves flying. I started training at JFA in September 2022 and flew my first 10 hours with Captain Shamir Orrie.
“Shamir is an excellent instructor with the best advice and great stories about flying.”
Flying on his own
Juan did his solo consolidation flight with Warren on December 14 where he was allowed to do his first solo flight around 16:00 with ZU-KRJ in the circuit at the Panorama airfield.
“The feeling when the instructor leaves the aircraft and the canopy gets closed over your head is a feeling that cannot be described. My heart felt like it was beating in my throat,” he said.
Juan turned the plane around and lined up on runway 20. “I remember saying to myself, how bad can it be, it is just like the simulator. After taking off, the plane feels significantly lighter than usual and climbs faster than with another person in it.”
He said he was calm on the flight and mostly concentrated on his radio work.
“Hoping to land the plane smoothly, I aligned KRJ on runway 20 and landed with probably the best weather conditions for that week. I taxied back to the JFA hangar and saw my friends rushing towards me as I got out of the aircraft with my sweaty back.
“The fact that my friends were there meant a lot to me as they supported me during the rough times when I tried to multitask schoolwork and flight training. And seeing the smile on my parents’ faces was a moment I will treasure for the rest of my life.
“My mother helped me through every part of my flight training with study material, money to be able to fly, taking me to the airport and paying for my headset. I don’t ever say it enough, but I appreciate everything she has done for me,” said Juan with a grateful heart.
Happiest in a plane
The best part of flying for him is the takeoff because he feels this anticipation that something awesome is going to happen.
“As I give full power, I feel the aircraft rise, feel the power that it has and have to control the aircraft, knowing the responsibility to be able to fly it. Seeing the landscapes beneath me is more beautiful from the sky.”
The current challenge is his age, as he struggles to get all his flying done. He needs to limit the number of hours he can fly per month to not unnecessarily waste money on flights that cannot count for his license.
“Dealing with school when flying puts a lot of stress on me. As an upcoming pilot, I face the high costs of the CPL, so I work hard in school to achieve a bursary to complete my license towards becoming an airline pilot.”
What the future holds
His goal is to finish his PPL and spend some time flying around with his friends and family and then start working on his night and instrument ratings.
“Most important is to finish high school. I also want to get my helicopter licence when I finish school.”
After high school, he hopes to finish his CPL at JFA or get Wings International and then become a pilot for Airlink for a few years.
“After flying for Airlink I hope to fly international flights and explore the world. My dream is to open my own flight school one day and help young pilots achieve their dreams.
“I recommend becoming a pilot because it makes you feel free. I enjoy flying each time. When I climb out of the plane I want to get back in. Flying is my way of escaping reality for the time being. Flying clears my mind and makes me happy.”
