Riley Speidel got her pilot license at 16, and wants to inspire others to pursue careers in aviation.

Riley Speidel has a pilot’s license, but she hasn't yet gotten her driver’s license.

The 16-year-old has been around planes ever since she can remember. “I just grew up around little airplanes and around the airlines,” she says. Becoming a pilot felt like a natural step in her life.

Speidel is following the footsteps of her dad and grandparents, all of whom are pilots. She was 12 when she decided to get serious about flying and her dad, Jake, and grandfather Pat became her instructors.

At 14, the Carmel teen got her student pilot certificate and flew across the country, from California to Maine, flying over 3,000 miles, making her the youngest pilot to fly coast-to-coast in the U.S. (She was accompanied by her dad and another pilot, each in a separate plane.)

Instead of resting on her laurels, Speidel is looking at what it means for potentially motivating more young pilots. “It’ll be helpful to get more young people, and especially girls [into flying] to try to show them what you can do even if you are only 14,” she says.

Her first passenger as a licensed pilot on June 1 was her grandmother Jo, who accompanied her on the flight from Palm Springs to Marina. She piloted a Pipistrel Sinus, a two-seat single-engine ultralight motor glider, with 50-foot wings. They chose this model because it is a particularly safe plane. “If the engine dies for whatever reason, you have so many options,” Speidel says. “It’s just 1,000 feet up, and you can glide three miles.”

She landed at Marina Airport a little after 1pm on Tuesday, June 1, where she was greeted with a water arch from Marina Fire Department engines and cheers from her family and friends who were waiting for her at the airport.

Speidel hopes to eventually join the U.S. Air Force or become a commercial pilot. She spoke with the Weekly about her experience in the skies as a young woman in a field dominated by men.

Weekly: You’d been flying since you were a kid with your relatives. How did it feel the first time you took the controls and flew a plane?

Speidel: I don’t really remember the first time. Every airplane has two sets of controls. Once we were up in the air and level, my dad let me fly. I mean, there’s a little picture of me when I was like 3 glaring at him from my car seat [in an airplane seat] because I wasn’t flying.

You were 14 the first time you flew by yourself, a little different than at age 3. How did that feel?

I mean, it’s kind of nerve-wracking at first glance, and in the back of your head it’s like, “Um, did I forget how to do this?” But after that, it just felt pretty normal after the very first time, and it was really exciting and fun. It’s cool, because the Glider was so much lighter without my dad. It took off really fast.

What’s your favorite part of being a pilot?

The sense of freedom and separation you get from everything. Because when you’re out there flying, basically you can just go wherever you want, make what decisions you want. It’s just fun.

It’s like riding a bike for fun. You’re doing something, it’s up to you and only you can make this thing happen. It’s kind of a test of your skill.

What was the hardest part of learning how to fly?

Definitely landing. Because when you just fly up there straight and level, there’s no consequences. If you’re going fast and you’re pretty level, even if you’re varying on your altitude or getting a little off course, they’re easily corrected.

But landing, you’re right near the ground. You get perfectly lined up, make sure you end up on the runway. You have to crab into the wind [point the nose of the plane directly into the wind] and then right before you land, you have to fix that crab and straighten it out, make sure you’re not going sideways. You have to make sure you’re not going to hit the ground too hard and make sure you’re not going to float too long and end up too far down the road. There’s a lot to learn there.

You’re a pilot now, joining a field with relatively few women. How does that feel?

I’m glad I’m a part of it and can hopefully help other young women and girls to see that it is a possibility, and hopefully help them find a career that they love that they didn’t think was possible before.