Roman Stott ‘21 earns solo flight endorsement
Please join the Aviation Department in congratulating Roman Stott on earning his student pilot solo endorsement. Roman flew solo for the first time on January 7, 2021, in a Cessna 172, tail number N99265, on runway 18 at Albert Whitted Airport in downtown St. Petersburg.
Roman, a senior day student originally from Russia and currently living in St. Petersburg, FL, has been at Farragut since his freshman year, and has taken aviation each year that he’s been here.
Roman grew up around flight. His mother, Nicole Stott, is a retired NASA astronaut. She served as a Flight Engineer on ISS Expedition 20 and Expedition 21 and was a Mission Specialist on STS-128 and STS-133. “She exposed me to everything she could,” Roman said. “But I had an interest in aviation. I always really liked flying.”
“There’s a lot of fun things about flying,” Roman continued. “Landing is fun, taking off is fun, talking to the tower is fun. You’re in your own space. I’m a totally different person in the air.”
Roman wasn’t nervous about his first time flying. “I was concentrated,” he said. “You don’t want to get too comfortable in an airplane because that’ll turn dangerous. So I was comfortable, but not too comfortable.”
“Roman began flying with me last year and continues to improve with each flight,” said Rob Ewing, director of the aviation program at Farragut. “He is very safety conscious and works very hard to be prepared for each flight. It has been a pleasure flying with him these past two years and, as always, I am fortunate and proud to be a part of this tremendous accomplishment.”
Roman Stott exploring alumnus Ed DeSeta’s private jet ’67N in 2020
At Farragut, Roman also plays baseball and was until recently a member of the drone club. He is still deciding what he wants to ultimately do with aviation. He will be attending Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in the fall, and he plans to major in aeronautical science.
Though Embry-Riddle is his mother’s alma mater, Roman’s accomplishments are his own, and he attributes much of it to his time working with Mr. Ewing. “He has taught me a lot, and I really love the Aviation Academy at Farragut.”
