Even after flying for two years, Cristy Devos still feels excited as she takes off at Grand Air Aviation in Grand Ledge.
Now, with the airport less than 30 minutes away, the criminal justice junior often rents an airplane and cruises at 7,000 feet.
"You can see everything — cars from the highway, houses," Devos said. "You can go real low."
Aside from the beautiful view, thousands of feet above her college town, she's had an occasional nerve-wracking moment — such as when the airplane had a power failure as she was learning to fly with an instructor.
"It was a little of an adrenaline rush," the 21-year-old said.
But Devos didn't panic.
She calmly turned off the radio and lights in order to conserve electricity to make it back safely to the airport.
When she was back on the ground and told her parents, they just laughed.
When she flies, Devos brings along a charm, about the size of a nickel, that her grandmother gave her. On the religious medal is a picture of a saint.
"It makes me feel a little safer, like I'm being protected," Devos said.
Pete Kamarainen, who was Devos' flight instructor at Grand Air Aviation, said flying isn't uncommon for college students or high schoolers, especially since the minimum age to fly solo is 16.
"Most young people have good flying skills," Kamarainen said. "They can control and fly an airplane. Where a young student is lacking is judgment.
"If you have a desire to fly, there's no age bracket. We have 17-year-old kids all the way up to 60-year-old grandmas."
Most young people earn their wings because they're interested in a career in aviation, whether that be as an airline pilot or a flying instructor.
The cost to earn a pilot's license runs from $4,500 to $6,500, depending on the size of the airplane, and it can take anywhere from four to six months, he said. After that, renting a four-seater airplane in Grand Ledge costs $88 per hour.
Someday, Devos might earn her instrument rating, so she can fly into the clouds.
But until then, she navigates the plane by looking for rivers and landmarks down below.
Devos plans on continuing her newfound hobby during college.
"It'll be something I hang on to," she said.
