This is your youngest captain speaking

Pilot pupil Jack Frodsham

A SADDLEWORTH schoolboy has become the youngest person to captain an aircraft in the UK - and will soon become one of the youngest to captain a helicopter.

Jack Frodsham, a Year 11 pupil at Rishworth School, has been flying since he was 12 and has accumulated almost 150 hours in single and multi-engine aircraft and 15 hours in a four-seater helicopter.

He went solo at Manchester’s Barton Airport on his 16th birthday and also flew to Sherburn, North Yorkshire the same day where he did another five circuits solo.

Jack said: “The satisfaction, exhilaration and sense of freedom of flying solo is incredible and the pride I feel as a captain of an aircraft is unbelievable.”

Jack has already passed all his ground exams, including law and navigation, and hopes to obtain his aeroplane and helicopter private pilot licences on his 17th birthday.

Jack’s dad Gordan Frodsham added: “We are very proud. He is a determined young man who sets himself a goal and works hard to achieve it.”