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Time magazine listed Türkiye's youngest female pilot candidate in the list of 'Girls of the Year.' Ozcan, a high school junior from Bursa, had become Türkiye’s youngest female pilot candidate to complete a solo flight as part of her Ultralight Pilot License (UPL) training.
Time magazine called Ozcan an adventurer and wrote, "Defne Ozcan loves the sense of total freedom that flying gives her, but when, at age 16, she became the youngest Turkish person ever to fly solo, it wasn’t to pursue a career as a pilot. It was to make sure that other women would.
Growing up with a mechanical engineer father, Ozcan took it for granted that she could be anything she wanted. But she soon realized that few other women in Türkiye felt the same way, especially when it came to working in STEM fields as scientists, aircraft technicians, or even pilots.''
Defne Ozcan joined Yunuseli Airport’s Amateur Aviation Certificate Program in March 2023 at the age of 15.
After completing six hours of flight and ten hours of ground training with her father, she moved on to UPL studies.
She successfully passed 45 hours of theoretical courses in aviation law, operations planning, meteorology, communication, and emergency procedures, followed by 18 hours of practical training. On her 19th flight hour, she performed her first solo flight in a single-engine red aircraft.
“I made my first solo flight on Oct. 27, the 101st anniversary of the Republic,” she said. “To be in the sky, at such a young age, on such a special date, is an indescribable feeling. Being alone in the air gave me huge self-confidence.”
Although she plans to pursue mechanical engineering, Defne says aviation will always remain part of her life. Inspired by Sabiha Gokcen, Türkiye’s first female pilot and the world’s first female fighter pilot, she hopes to motivate young girls:
“Only 5% of pilots are women. I want to show girls they can achieve anything if they follow their dreams.”
Her instructor, Dilmurat Cumali, praised her discipline and determination: “She became the youngest female pilot in Türkiye to fly solo. Defne will be an inspiration to her generation.”
Zehra Savas, Communications Director at the flight school, added, “When people hear ‘pilot,’ they often think of a man. But women like Sabiha Gokcen proved otherwise. Training Defne has been a source of pride for us.”
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