Meet the 11-year-old Irish girl learning to fly planes and hot air balloons

Evie Rose, an 11-year-old from Meath, is building a flying résumé alongside her studies, co-piloting hot air balloons with her father Brendan and now training for light aircraft. The family relocated to West Sussex in recent years to secure better treatment for her mother Laura’s medical conditions, while Evie said she still hopes to return to Ireland someday. In the UK, she trains with British Young Pilots, which supports children aged 10 to 17 with aerospace STEM and flight training. She is preparing for her third flight with her Irish instructor, saying theory and simulation can’t match the real experience, especially wind and bumps. Evie plans to pursue fixed-wing flying while keeping ballooning as her main focus, and wants to start a hot-air balloon company in Ireland.