The first time senior Jason Tharp flew in a small private plane he was 4-years-old, and his dad was piloting. His dad even let him hold the control.

“I’ve always loved flying,” Jason said. “So around the beginning of sophomore year I started on the process of getting my private pilot’s license.”

Jason has a long history of pilots in his family. His dad received his private pilot’s license when he was 16-years-old after having been around planes his entire life. Jason’s grandfather was wealthy and owned his own airfield.

“My family has always been supportive of me getting a pilot’s license,” Jason said.

Allison Tharp, Jason’s mom, has always encouraged his hobby of flying.

“[The first time Jason flew] was fun,” Allsion said. “He does well at everything he tries and I knew he would be fine. Especially since he was with a licensed pilot.”

The process to obtain a private pilot’s license is a relatively long one. Jason has been working towards his about two years now and suspects that it will take another year or so at least. He goes to the Gardner Municipal Airport about once a month for lessons with his flight instructor.

“It’s pretty expensive for lessons,” Jason said. “My parents and I trade off paying for lessons though so that makes things easier for me.”

Every time Jason travels out to the airfield for lessons, the whole process takes about three hours. The first 45 minutes to an hour involves preparing for flight and learning new maintenance aspects of the plane, a two door, propeller-run Cessna 150. Jason then normally flies for about two hours, practicing flight patterns.

“The longest I’ve ever flown was 50 miles and it took a few hours,” Jason said. “It can be exhausting, especially the flight patterns. The pressure is constantly changing which puts stress on your body.”

Weather can greatly affect Jason’s flying experience.

“The first time I ever flew was right after it snowed and it started to snow while I was flying. The air gets a lot more dense when it’s snowing,” Jason said. “I haven’t had to fly through rain yet though, which would be a totally different experience.”

Jason plans on attending Air Force ROTC at the University of Kansas after graduation and then entering the service. He will have to become an engineer however because he can never actually qualify to be an Air Force pilot.

“I’m severely color-blind,” Jason said. “I’ll only ever be able to get my private pilot’s license.”

One of Jason’s favorite parts of flying is being able to experience the scenery of Kansas from a new angle.

“It’s just amazing to be able to experience the weather and see the landscape,” Jason said. “Watching the sun shine off Gardner Lake is really spectacular.”

As much as he enjoys being in the air, not all aspects of flying appeal to Jason.

“I hate stalling, it’s pretty much my only fear. I’m okay with all heights, it’s just stalling,” Jason said. “As a part of my instruction I have to purposefully stall the engine at a 70 degree angle. I’ve had to do that a couple of times and I don’t like it at all. The first time the instructor really had to guide me through it.”

Despite the fear and risk flying brings, Jason still considers flying one of the most important aspects of his life.

“Flying,” Jason said, “is the highest form of freedom expressed physically.”