FROM COCKPIT DREAMS TO YOUTUBE SCREENS – WE CAUGHT UP WITH ASHTON NELSON, AN ASPIRING PILOT
Not many people can say they have more experience flying an aircraft than they have driving a car. With 10 hours of flight time already, Ashton Nelson is a member of this exclusive club at the age of 16. “I’ve got more hours in the air than I do on my learner’s on the ground. It’s amazing how little hours you have in the air but how significant that time and experience is,” he said.
Ashton’s passion for aviation has been lifelong, regularly tracking flights on Flightradar24 and listening to live Air Traffic Control transmissions. “When we’d fly on family holidays I’d always ask to go and see the pilots after the flight. It was a no-brainer to just have a go and see how I’d like it in a small plane,” he said. Now Ashton has set his sights on becoming a commercial pilot, with the possibility of becoming a flight instructor or even a Check Captain one day.
Being in Year 10 at Christian College Geelong, he is already tailoring his school subjects to align with his aviation ambitions—and naturally, he takes any opportunity to incorporate aviation into his school learning. “At school I’m currently doing a landing gear mechanism that’s activated by a server which can be initiated to go up and down,” he said. Another school project involved a Cessna 172 crank box which would rotate a prop, so he is well and truly immersing himself in aviation at every turn.
He is already looking beyond school, having already attended open days at RMIT Point Cook and researching cadetships with Rex and Qantas Pilot Academy. Once of his biggest role models is his uncle who is a captain for Qantas in a 787 and has been a key mentor, offering guidance on career pathways — although Ashton acknowledges not everyone is lucky enough to have such a resource. “I also want to help inspire people because I know when I started there wasn’t really much content. Especially on the RAAus experience and the RAAus pathway. I really enjoy making the videos, editing them and creating all of the content and I want to share my passion with other people.”
With around 500 followers, Ashton’s YouTube Channel Aviator Ash is his passion project, documenting every flight since his trial instructional flight at the age of 15.
His other videos cover interviews with other pilots, and everything from flight simulator reviews to handy educational content on the phonetic alphabet. “A large part of creating my YouTube channel was so I could share my experiences with friends and family,” he said. Ashton hopes to inspire the next generation of aviators. His advice to other young enthusiasts is simple: “Just get out there and give it a go. Stick with it, and it will be worth it.”
Ashton is grateful for the support he has received from his family to help pursue his passion. “My mum and dad drive me out to the airport for each lesson, waiting out there for a couple of hours, and film my take-offs and landings. I think they are very proud of what I’ve been doing.”
At the time of writing, Ashton’s next big goal is to complete his first solo flight, which makes him equal parts excited and nervous. “Everyone I’ve talked to says they remember their first solo, so I think it will definitely be a memorable event. I’ve been doing a lot of flight sim practice as the weather hasn’t been greatest and it’s not the cheapest exercise,” he said. “My instructor has been really supportive throughout the whole journey. He’s been great.” Ashton’s home airport is Lethbridge in Victoria where he flies one of the three Tecnam P92 Eaglets.
One of Ashton’s favourite things about flying is the surreal feeling and freedom of being up in the air. “You can do as much flight sim as you want at home, and I do, but in the air, you feel the forces, and the Gs and what your body is going through,” he said.
Landing, Ashton admits, has been the most challenging aspect of learning to fly, requiring precision and constant practice. “If you miss a week or two of flying, your proficiency drops quickly,” he said. “There’s a lot going on. When you’re driving in a car there’s only a few things to think about, but when you’re in the air it adds a whole other different dimension. You have to worry about your aircraft, all the different pressure and temp gauges. If you break down on the side of the road you can pull over, but in the air, you need to think about where you can be landing at any time if your engine cuts out.”
In the lead up to his first solo, Ashton has been spending a lot of time practising on Microsoft Flight Simulator. “I can play around flying big commercial aircraft or practise realistically with the aircraft I’m actually flying in. I’ve designed Lethbridge Airport so I can fly out of there. It’s been really helpful for my flight training to be able to use flight simulator as a tool because it’s so accessible.”
When Ashton is unable to fly, he is busy reading ahead of the course material in anticipation of his next lesson, practising his landings on Flight Simulator or making videos for his YouTube channel. And when he’s not doing those things, he’s working a part time job to help pay for more flight time in the air. Outside of flying, Ashton loves being outdoors, playing footy, stand up paddleboarding and surfing, but flying is no doubt his number one passion. “If flying was free, I would be up there every minute of every day.”
Looking to the future, Ashton is really excited to get his passenger endorsement so he can take his family and friends for a fly. “I’d love to take them around the local area, fly over their houses and share the world of aviation with those who have never flown in a small aircraft before. My parents come out to each flight but have never flown in a small Tecnam, so I think just being able to share it would be one of the first things I’d like to enjoy with them”.
