Most teenagers are content with taking to the road when they turn 17, but Carrie Clark set her sights on something much higher.

While her friends are preparing to get behind the wheel of a car for the first time, the Rainham youngster will be piloting a plane on her own, even though she has not yet passed her driving test.

While three point turns might still prove tricky runway landings are now a breeze after she gained her private pilot’s licence, two weeks after her 17th birthday.

The Mid Kent College student is among some of the youngest flyers in the UK. She began lessons at Rochester Airport in April this year and was determined to pass her test by her birthday in August.

In the past four months she has undertaken hours of studying, seven written exams and 49 hours in the air, including 10 hours solo flying.

Her dream is to become a commercial pilot. Carrie, a former Chatham South pupil, said: “When you’re boarding a huge plane and you can see that small person in the cockpit, that’s where I always wanted to be.

“I can’t explain the feeling of flying. It’s amazing. You’re away from everything and in your own world. It’s that moment when you’re on the runway and you push for full power, it gives you the best feeling.”

* For more on this story see Friday's print edition of the Medway Messenger