He has spent his summer flying the British skies alone, and he is only 17.

Robert Jardine has dreamed of being a pilot since he was five years old when he told his parents "I wish I was a bird so I could fly in the sky".

And last week he achieved his dream when he earned the Private Pilot Licence (PPL), possibly the youngest Bermudian ever to do so. "It's amazing being up there and looking out over villages and lakes," he said. "Nothing compares to flying."

One of the scariest experiences Robert has had while flying was caused by pedestrians. A by-law in the UK allows people the right of way to walk across a runway as long as the pedestrian right of way existed first.

"I was revving my engine to take off and go on a solo flight," he said. "Just as I started to build up speed I noticed four figures moving but I couldn't really see what they were because the sunlight was in my eyes.

"Then I realised it was four people slowing, walking across the runway. I had to brake really hard and my plane almost turned over. I think they were having fun, just walking across slowing, knowing they have the right of way, but I was scared."

Another time the door in his Cessna 152 flew open and he looked out and realised just how far off the ground he was.–"It was a little worrying to realise just how high I was," he said. "But I also enjoyed it, it was a bit of a thrill."

Although laws forbid children younger than 16 from flying solo Robert decided to start taking lessons with an instructor in England when he was only 11 years old to ensure he would be ready as soon as he was old enough. And he reached his goal when he took his first solo flight on August 4 last year, the day after his 16th birthday.

"I was aiming to get it done on the day of my birthday but, due to bad weather, it had to be the next day," he said. ""It was sort of just as soon as possible really so I could say that I got it done when I was just legal to do it."

While he loves the thrill and accomplishment of flying he admits the process of obtaining his PPL was not easy because he had to concentrate on his studies while pursuing his passion.

This year Robert, who attends Strathallan Boarding School in Scotland, spent May and June preparing for his A-level exams in biology, business and computers while also studying his various flying text books.

He said he spent hours poring over the thick manuals which concentrated on navigation, weather, aircraft safety, radio navigation and flight planning.

In July he completed and passed several exams and gained more flight experience. In total he was required to complete 45 hours of flight time, eight of which had to be solo. After completing the exams he returned to Bermuda to work as an I.T. intern at Appleby Spurling Hunter law firm before returning to the UK to sit his final practical exam.

Because the PPL is only awarded to people 17 and over Robert had to wait until after his birthday to sit his final written exam and take the practical exam which involved a solo flight the Headcorn Airfield in Kent to the Goodwood Airfield in West Sussex and on to the Lydd Airfield in Kent. Despite obtaining his licence at such a young age Robert won't go on to become a professional pilot.

"I am colour-blind, I can't distinguish between red and green, which means I can never pursue it professionally. But I plan to keep it up as I love doing it.

"At the moment I am just looking forward to taking some of my friends on a flight when I have a weekend off for school. Even though it's a big responsibility I've already had lots of volunteers.

"My friends think it's pretty cool that we can just fly off."