Lainie Zinser, 17, a junior at Amherst High School, recently completed her first solo flight as she works toward her private pilot’s license. Her training with instructor Kurt Gross is done at Wings Air Charter LLC, in Wisconsin Rapids.

Zinser’s parents, Robert “Bam Bam” and Michelle, said, “Her passion for flying and planes started at a young age. She would want to stand by the airport windows and watch planes come in and out of the airport.”

After graduation, Lainie plans to attend aviation school and acquire a commercial pilot’s license with a goal of working for United Airlines.

She has received many compliments from her instructors, including: “She’s 100% dedicated; always early and fully engaged in her instruction; studies hard while balancing her work, life, and school; and is career-oriented to be a commercial pilot.”

Student pilot Lainie Zinser (left) and her instructor Kurt Gross (right).