Sullivan Vande Voort celebrated his 16th birthday May 26, 2025, by completing solo flights in 13 different airplane types.
Sullivan’s family owns Classic Aviation, an aviation services company and flight school at Pella Municipal Airport (KPEA) and Oskaloosa Municipal Airport (KOOA) in Iowa.
“A pilot must be 16 years old to fly an airplane solo and Sullivan had set a goal to fly more than 10 airplanes on his 16th birthday,” says Shane Vande Voort, Sullivan’s father. “Due to the kindness of the aviation community and his hard work, he was able to solo 13.”
Sullivan is a third-generation pilot who started logging flight at age 6 when he could finally reach the rudder pedals. He had logged 210 hours of training in 24 types of airplanes prior to his solo flights, according to Shane.
Sullivan’s long-awaited birthday arrived with clear skies and light winds and the hangar doors were opened before the sun rose. Just after sunrise Sullivan and his flight instructor dad took off together for a quick flight to evaluate the conditions in a 1946 Aeronca 7AC Champ.
After a quick trip around the pattern Sullivan made his first solo in the 79-year-old airplane. Sullivan then proceeded to go from one aircraft to another for 13 solos.
The 13 aircraft covered a broad spectrum of general aviation airplanes, including nine tailwheel and four tricycle gear aircraft.
The oldest aircraft was a 1940 Meyer’s OTW biplane powered by a Warner 7-cylinder radial engine, originally designed to train World War II pilots. The newest production aircraft was a 2006 Cirrus SR-20.
The airplanes flown in order were a 1946 Aeronca Champ, 1946 Piper J-3 Cub, 1940 Meyers OTW, 1947 Cessna 120, 1947 Stinson 108-2, 1992 Van’s RV-6, 1943 Taylorcraft L-2M, 2021 Rans S-21, 1999 American Champion 7GCBC Citabria, 1977 Cessna 172N Skyhawk, 2006 Cirrus SR-20, 2003 Cirrus SR22, and a 1977 Piper PA28-140 Cherokee.
Sullivan had a personal connection to most of the airplanes he soloed, Shane notes. Some are used in the family business, some owned by his mentors, some were flown by his grandfather, and two were previously owned by his great uncle.
A special opportunity was flying the Rans S-21 Outbound, which was built by the Hutchison family and was offered by family friend Matt Hutchinson who was recently diagnosed with a brain tumor.
“I hope this may inspire other young people to get involved in aviation,” says Sullivan who plans to pursue a career in aviation. “I’m thankful to have had experienced mentors in my flight training but also excited to have many friends in my age group who are flying.”
As the morning passed, friends and family began to gather at KPEA to watch Sullivan achieve his goal.
Doug Rozendaal, warbird examiner and an air show pilot, has long been one of Sullivan’s mentors and aviation heroes. He flew in the night before to make sure he didn’t miss anything.
“I have known Sullivan since he was very young,” he says. “It has been a pleasure to watch him grow up and I wasn’t going to miss the occasion. It was amazing to watch him climb from one airplane to the next and grease them on consistently.”
“It was a wonderful day for our family and the aviation community that surrounds us,” adds Shane. “No matter what happens to Sullivan in life I hope he remembers that if you work hard even difficult goals can be accomplished, and I hope he remembers what it feels like to have a community around you that believes in you and supports you.”
Sullivan flew 4.2 hours in the 13 aircraft before noon. After that he went to work a shift at the airport with the hope of getting his driver’s license after the Memorial Day holiday weekend.
Sullivan looks forward to getting his private pilot’s certificate and instrument rating when he turns 17, and in the meantime flying solo around the Midwest.
Read more about Sullivan in Sparky Barnes’ story on Marginal Aviation’s 2025 First Ditch Fly-in.
That’s quite an achievement. Certainly a privileged achievement. Not many people would have access to that many airplanes. Kudos to his instructor – that’s a lot of solo endorsements to crank out…..