"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:3fUig.26692$1i1.20490@attbi_s72...
[...]
Prior to age 37, I could only walk around on the ground looking up
enviously at aircraft flying overhead -- so I have no frame of reference
on this issue. For those of you who were lucky enough to train as
teenagers, did it work for you? Should my son wait a year, so he can go
at it full-steam and get the ticket?

Or should we strike while the iron is hot?

Unlike Martin, I interpret "we" as "Jay and son". I may or may not have
misunderstood.

And yes, sorry...I didn't learn to fly until adulthood, so you didn't really
ask me. But this is my reply anyway.

Anyway, as far as any of this goes, I'd agree that the real question is what
he wants to do. Getting to fly an airplane solo for a year before taking a
checkride isn't going to hurt him. If he's really all that eager to take a
checkride, the glider certificate is right there ready and waiting for him.
He could even take a friend up with that.

I wouldn't worry at all about how the timing might affect his enthusiasm.
It's more important that he be able to follow what he wants to do. If
training now turns into a bust because he gets distracted by other things
before he can take the checkride, so be it. You can't say that he wouldn't
have also been distracted before even getting around to the training, had he
just waited for the whole thing.

As a teenager, his job is (among other things) to explore different
possibilities and get an idea of what he wants to do with his life. IMHO,
this necessarily requires following wherever his current interests lead him,
without worrying too much about whether he can keep up his interest. It's
no longer your job to try to mold him (assuming it ever was)...he's too old
for you to be able to decide for him what he'll like or not like. Just let
him have his experiences, and he can figure it out on his own.

Pete