Pilot, 16, still soaring after first solo flight

Holly Rowley-White flew without instructor Paul Young for the first time

A teenage pilot said it felt "incredible" to complete her first solo flight just five days after her 16th birthday.

Holly Rowley-White took off in the Cessna 150 at Beccles Aerodrome in Suffolk.

She joked that she felt so "chill" at 1,000ft (305m) that she considered taking a photo on her phone, before thinking better of it.

Ms Rowley-White wants to fly solo around the world after her A Levels, and then pilot fighter jets for the Royal Air Force (RAF) once fully trained.

Her instructor and family watched nervously and breathed a sigh of relief when she landed on Saturday.

"I don't think I've quite come down to Earth yet," she told the BBC.

"It felt incredible."

Ms Rowley-White, pictured touching down in the Cessna 150, said she had not "come down to Earth yet"

Ms Rowley-White is a Sgt with the 759 (Beccles) Squadron RAF Air Cadets.

The teenager remembers wanting to fly planes from 10 years old and she notched up 40 flying hours before the solo outing.

She planned to take off on her 16th birthday - New Year's Day - but high winds kept her grounded.

'Can't even drive'

On Saturday, her father Stuart Rowley said his "heart was in my mouth and I was struggling to breath" the moment her instructor left her sitting solo.

"[But] I went from petrified dad to proud dad in two seconds," he recalled.

"Once she touched down on the ground it was such a relief and I suddenly realised my 16-year-old daughter can fly a plane which is just incredible - she can't drive a car yet but she can fly a plane on her own."

(l-r) Flying instructor Paul Young, father Stuart Rowley, Holly Rowley-White, sister Lilly Rowley-White, mother Debbi White and second flying instructor John Clarke

Ms Rowley-White has already plotted a route for flying around the world solo when she is 18 years old, which would make her the youngest female pilot to do so, knocking Zara Rutherford off her perch.

"I'm not going to hold her back with anything she wants to do - she's very capable and very sensible," said her father.

But first, a mock GCSE exam on Monday.