AirVenture Interviews, Teen Pilot Luc Zipkin

Luc Zipkin serves as the Founder and President of the Executive Board of Young Pilots USA, and is responsible for the organization and management of national-scale operations, also serving as President of Chapter 6 in East Haddam, CT. He first got involved in aviation through his father, who got his pilot's license as a teenager. ​ He was previously Director of Content for the Purple America Initiative, a Seattle-based youth political discourse organization with over 400 members, and works odd jobs in a variety of trades, including aviation and the service industry. ​ He graduated from Kent School in Kent, CT in 2022, and will attend Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT, studying a combination of economics, government, and international relations. Luc speaks English, French, and Spanish fluently, and is an Eagle Scout, a member of the Cum Laude Society, and the 2022 recipient of the Judith B. and Howard B. Wentz, Jr. College Scholarship Prize in Engineering as a result of his work helping to build a two-time national championship-winning solar-powered car. He holds an FAI Sporting License, and is a member of the Explorers Club of New York. In his spare time, he is restoring a 1964 Land Rover. ​ Luc started flying at age 10, soloed a glider at age 14, soloed a powered airplane at age 16, and earned his Private Pilot's License at age 17. Today, he flies the Schweizer SGS 2-33, Piper J-3 Cub, and Cessna 170. He has over 250 hours of total time across 18 types and is working on his Instrument Rating. As the pilot of the Cross-Country Cub flight, he is one of the youngest people to ever fly solo across the United States, and the youngest to do it solo in a Piper Cub. ​ Luc lives in Middlebury, CT with his parents and brother, Ben (15) when not in the air.