Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Inverurie Academy pupil, 17, gets his pilot wings before he can learn to drive

George Jr. beside the aircraft in which he passed his test.
George Jr. beside the aircraft in which he passed his test.

Following in his grandfather’s footsteps, George Walker Jr. took to the air this month for the first time as a qualified pilot – before he can even drive a car.

Having passed his final exam, the 17-year-old officially holds his private pilot licence (PPL).

Now the S6 Inverurie Academy pupil has turned his attention to finishing school and following his dream of becoming a commercial pilot.

“He’s a cool customer, nothing phases him,” reports father George Walker Sr.

Family’s flying legacy

The family is immensely proud of this achievement, particularly because flying appears to be in the blood.

Bob Southall, George’s grandfather, was an RAF pilot who later turned his skills to the air taxi service.

George Jr. in his grandfather’s pilot seat aboard The Whispering Giant, which is on display at Cotswold Airport.

In his time he flew such well-known figures including The Beatles to Ireland, and Princess Diana to her first meeting with the Queen Mother at Castle Mey.

Bob’s father, George’s great-grandfather, was also a pilot, flying Spitfires during the Second World War.

George adamant he would fly before he could drive

Through his father’s events company, George came into contact with pilots and aircrafts from an early age, beginning a lifelong interest. Hours spent studying his grandfather’s logbooks only furthered this.

Jenny Walker, George’s mother, said, “As George continues in pursuit of his own career in aviation, we remember with great pride the footsteps he follows and know with certainty how proud my dad would be of his grandson, who, I’m sure, he will sit beside on every journey he takes.”

George was determined not to take his driving test until he’d secured his pilot’s licence, adamant that he would fly before he could drive.

The teenager is now waiting for the hard copy of his licence to arrive. Then, he and his father are planning to take a celebratory flight up to Dornoch for lunch.

Conversation