- ESTHER OERTEL
- Posted On
Lakeport teen flies before driving and earns pilot’s license on 16th birthday
LAKEPORT, Calif. — On Matthew Dollosso’s 16th birthday in January, before he could legally drive a vehicle, he took off in a Cessna 172 from Lampson Field in Lakeport on his first solo flight and realized a long-held dream.
Dollosso, who lives in Lakeport with his family, can’t remember a time when he wasn’t interested in planes and flying. He credits his father, Frank, as the inspiration behind his eagerness to pursue a pilot’s license.
“I remember my dad talking a lot about flying and how much he loves it,” Matthew Dollosso said.
The older Dollosso, in turn, points to his son as the reason he has a pilot’s license today.
Over two decades ago, before he had a family, Frank Dollosso pursued a private pilot’s license. He had completed all the required flight hours, had passed the written test, and had a flight exam scheduled. Then Sept. 11, 2001, happened, and everything was grounded for a time. Somehow, he just didn’t return to it after that.
While his son was learning to fly, Frank Dollosso became motivated to complete his own license requirements through a question from Matthew: “Dad, why don’t you get back into flying?”
Now both father and son are licensed and share together their passion for flight.
From the time he was young, Matthew Dollosso was fascinated by airplanes.
The Federal Express planes that take off from the Ukiah Municipal Airport fly directly over the Dollossos’ Lakeport home and provided fodder for this burgeoning interest. It wasn’t long before he had memorized their and other planes’ flight patterns, thanks in part to a phone app.
On Matthew Dollosso’s 15th birthday, his father gifted him with a “discovery flight,” which, simply put, is someone’s first experience in a private plane with the purpose of discerning an interest in flying.
The teenager and discovery flight’s pilot, who was Frank Dollosso’s flight instructor from 20 years before, took off from the airport in Ukiah and spent time soaring over the area. As is typical for a discovery flight, Matthew Dollosso spent time in the pilot’s seat to see what learning to fly would be like.
“That first flight is one of the best memories of my life,” he said. It cemented his desire to be a pilot.
With the teen ready to pursue a license, his family engaged Kenneth Henninger, an independent flight instructor working out of Lake County’s airport, Lampson Field, to teach him to fly. Henninger also helped father Frank complete the requirements for his license, which he accomplished 20 years to the week after he initially started the process.
Matthew Dollosso had to wait until age 16 to fly a plane solo per Federal Aviation Administration or FAA, rules, and he did this at the first opportunity, on his 16th birthday on Jan. 23.
This earned him a student license, which comes with some restrictions. He’s not allowed to take passengers and, though he can fly wherever he wishes, he must be signed off by his instructor before taking to the skies as a solo flyer.
According to Henninger, a student pilot isn’t allowed to go up unless the skies are clear and the wind is minimal. The FAA requires a minimum of five statute miles of visibility, but Henninger won’t give permission unless visibility is greater than this. He notes that Mt. Konocti isn’t visible from the airport without at least six statute miles of visibility.
While Matthew Dollosso is the youngest student Henninger has soloed, he’s not the youngest person he’s taught. There’s no minimum age to start logging flight hours, and Henninger has worked on and off with a 9-year-old enthusiast. His oldest student was 82, and every decade between 9 and 82 has been represented among his students.
Matthew Dollosso will legally be able to get his private pilot’s license at age 17. It comes as no surprise that, like with his student license, he plans to do that on his birthday next year. When certified, he’ll be able to take passengers and fly solo without an instructor’s permission.
Henninger has high praise for his young student. “Matthew is a super good pilot, especially for 16 years old. If not for having to wait a year for his age, he would be able to get his private pilot’s license now.”
He stressed that student designation is because of age, not experience. “For as much as he’s flown and how well he flies, he could be a fully licensed pilot right now if not for the FAA requirement,” said Henninger.
Dollosso’s goal is to become a commercial pilot, perhaps eventually with a large legacy airline, and once he’s certified as a private pilot, he’ll work with Henninger to obtain his commercial pilot’s license at the minimum age of 18. According to Henninger, getting all his ratings at the minimum age puts him ahead of the game.
Henninger said that on a first flying lesson the student sits in the pilot seat in front of the instruments. He gives the student a broad overview of flying, so they get a feel for the aircraft. They learn how to throttle and brake, and how to ease up, turn, and stall.
After doing that for a flight or two, they practice landing, the hardest part of flying. As Henninger said, “We do landing after landing after landing until they’re able to do it by themselves.”
Henninger said he’s always nervous the first time a student flies solo, but not with Dollosso. “Matthew was the first and only person where I thought, ‘he’s got it.’ He’s a natural. It’s really amazing, especially at this age.”
Frank Dollosso added to that. “You’d think that as a parent you’d be nervous having your kid go up and fly on their own, but I’ve flown with him enough to know that his maneuvers were good and that he lands well. My wife and I weren’t nervous at all.”
Matthew, a high school sophomore, has been homeschooled throughout his life. He enjoys this arrangement, especially because it gives him freedom to pursue interests such as flying.
According to his father, aviation correlates well to homeschooling because reading, memorization of regulations and learning good communication skills are all part of it. In addition, “the history of aviation covers so much that it falls into just about every category of home school,” Frank Dollosso said.
He also noted that math skills are necessary for wing balance, ensuring that the plane isn’t overloaded and guaranteeing a correct center of gravity.
Henninger, smiling, added, “You have to be a meteorologist, a psychologist and a mathematician, and then at the end you get your pilot’s license.”
In addition to a private pilot’s license, Matthew Dollosso would like to get his instrument rating when he’s 17. His father is working on that now, and he’ll soon hunker down to begin those studies, too. This will enable him to fly through fog or when it’s cloudy.
Henninger noted that getting an instrument rating is difficult, as it’s all new information and one must know the mechanics of the instruments in depth. “It’s all about procedures, and the flying is more difficult because you can’t see outside. Ninety percent of our orientation is visual.”
In addition to the family’s Cessna 172 that Matthew Dollosso commandeered for this solo flight, he has experience with the Cherokee 140 owned by Henninger.
A passel of relatives came out to see Matthew Dollosso perform his first solo flight. Grandparents on both sides, aunts, uncles and others were there to share in his success. All, including flight instructor Henninger, signed the tail that was cut from his shirt, a tradition in the piloting world.
This unusual custom hails from the days when flight instructor and student sat tandem in an aircraft, rather than side-by-side. When the instructor needed to get the student's attention, he'd tug on their shirttail. Cutting it off represents the independence of the student once a pilot's license is earned.
Matthew Dollosso drove a car for the first time a few weeks after he earned his pilot’s license. He now has a driver’s license, but he prefers to fly. The open skies hold his interest more than the pavement below.
When asked what word best describes his feeling when in the air, Matthew Dollosso replied, “Amazing.”
Esther Oertel is a freelance writer in Middletown who's contributed to Lake County News since 2010. She especially enjoys writing about the people and places that make Lake County unique. For comments, questions and story suggestions, she may be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..