A Derbyshire teenager who became the UK’s youngest female helicopter pilot has described how her life has become a “whirlwind” since she picked up her licence during the summer.
Olivia Thompson, from Smalley, hit the headlines all over the world when she made history by earning her Private Pilot’s Licence (Helicopter) on July 4 – the day of her 17th birthday.
Since then, she has appeared in national newspapers, has been invited to fly helicopters in the USA, has visited the coast guard’s helicopter base in Cardiff, has started training for her commercial pilot licence (CPL) and landed a job at the same company which taught her to fly.
She has set her sights on making a living as a professional pilot – and also passed her driving licence in November.
Olivia, a former student at John Flamsteed Community School in Denby, learned to fly helicopters at Arcus Helicopters, based at Nottingham Airport, where she now works as a ground operations assistant.
It involves looking after admin and working in and around the helicopters, including refuelling them and preparing them to fly.
Olivia admits that she’s had an incredible year, having only started to learn to fly in March, and she admits that she struggles to decide which was her own personal highlight from the past 10 months.
Instead, she has a number of stand-out moments, including being invited to fly a five-seater Bell 505 Jet Ranger within days of passing her test and being personally invited to train at the Los Angeles HQ of the Robinson Helicopter Company by its CEO, David Smith, last month.
While she was there, she got to fly over some incredible sights, including along California’s coastline, from Redondo Beach to Santa Monica, before flying over Beverly Hills and passing over the famous Hollywood sign.
Later, she was invited to fly a helicopter by Orlando Helitours in Florida, which included flying with her parents, Andy and Karen, over the Everglades and looking down on an alligator-infested lake.
In addition to travelling around the world, Olivia has also enjoyed flying her helicopter (named Fudge) for fun while cruising over the snow-covered landscape of Derbyshire this winter.
She was also guest of honour at HM Coastguard’s helicopter base at St Athan, near Cardiff, in October.
She said: “The past six months have been an absolute whirlwind since I got my Private Pilot Licence, it feels like things have taken off in ways I didn’t expect.
“After the first story went out about me passing my test, my dad put Google Alerts on my phone so that every single time my name popped up in the news we could see.
“Then my dad came home one day with a massive pile of newspapers, and he had flipped them all to the page with me. That was so cool. I think we counted there over 20 newspapers globally!”
As well as attending the safety course, Olivia visited the Robinson factory and also got to do some additional flying with a legendary flight safety director at Robinson, Bob Muse.
She said: “It was an amazing experience, I loved the freedom of doing the training course on my own and it really boosted my confidence.
“Because, I mean, I struggle to make a call to order Domino’s Pizza by myself, but when I’m flying, I’m literally making radio calls to strangers on my own – it’s so weird.
“I had to be really independent. I arrived in the classroom and I assumed people might be thinking ‘Why is this kid in the classroom with us? But everyone was so nice.
“I had gained so much confidence after the Robinson visit. I learnt a lot from other people and that’s when I realised, I’m not just some kid in a room anymore. I had a seat at the table. So that was awesome.”
Olivia hasn’t yet made a strict decision about what she wants to do in the long term, but she wants to explore becoming an instructor.
She said: “I’m not rushing into anything else. In terms of the future, I can’t say what jobs will be available. With all the advancements in technology, who knows what will be needed? So right now, I want to get through my CPL first.
“I’d like to be a helicopter instructor because one of the things I love about flying is the community that comes with it. So being an instructor means you get to fly with different people and meet others from all over the world.
“I love working at Arcus, it’s just an amazing community. Everyone is so lovely, they slow everything down, they don’t rush you. It feels like cheating to do something I love that is so fun, and I can earn money from it.”
Olivia hopes that her story will inspire more young people to consider careers in aviation. She said: “I’ve learned that flying in the UK is so small, I want to encourage more people, especially girls, to get involved in the aviation industry.”
Her dad, Andrew Thompson, said: “I’ve been blown away by the opportunities Olivia has received. It has really uplifted her confidence, and that’s also since working at Arcus.
“To know what you want to do for your career at 17 is a huge achievement. As far as being a proud parent goes, what more can you want?”
Andrew also has his PPL and often flies with his daughter. He said: “The craziest thing will be if Olivia does become a flight examiner and one day she is making me sit a helicopter exam!”
Jamie Ferrand, director at Arcus helicopters, said: “I think that Olivia’s confidence has developed the most. I remember meeting Olivia when she was around 14, and since then she has grown a lot.
“Olivia is a great addition to the team at Arcus. She’s met a lot of our customer base, so she fits in nicely. She has started off helping us on the ground, and then that will expand into future roles and she will hopefully become an instructor.”
This article was written by Molly Young. Can we share your news and get you in the headlines too? Find out how we can help by getting in touch.
