‘I wanna fly everything,’ says UK’s youngest woman pilot Ellie Carter

Limitless, boundless, infinite... The sky was never the limit for Ellie Carter. Speaking exclusively to Zee Media, the young prodigy opened up about her dreams, passion, love for planes and adventures from a tender age of nine. At such an age when driving licences are not issued, Ellie’s dreams took her to skies. Ellie’s career literally took off after she was invited to the California base of the U2 spy plane when she flew with some of the US pilots. Excerpts:

How did it all start at the age of nine?

After my first flight at the age of nine, I was incredibly lucky since a lot of people saw my enthusiasm and they actually helped me by taking me to the flights with them. And that allowed me to continue to fly until I was 14 and ready to take official flying lessons.

Do you want to consider any platform for inspiring young pilots like you? 

Absolutely! I would not have reached where I am now without other pilots inspiring me, and I’m so grateful for that. And if I can inspire someone like that it will be so rewarding and brilliant for me.

What’s the dream aircraft you aspire to fly as an adult?

Every aircraft is different. I want to fly everything! I haven’t flown a biplane yet which is something on my list. I plan to fly something special... so ya I’ll try everything.

The UK has a dismal % of women as pilots, India has more than double...

I think the women in the UK are not taught about such opportunities in aviation from a young age. So when it comes to making a decision of what you want to, only a few pursue a career in aviation.

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