HE wasn't old enough to drink let alone drive to a pub - but as a special 16th birthday present Mark Smith went on a solo flight around Southampton Airport.

The plane loopy teenager has been flying since he was 14 but legally could not go solo until he became 16.

After an hour of circuiting around the airport with his instructor Mark took the controls. "I wasn't very nervous really. I was just concentrating on the actual flying. I didn't have time to concentrate on nerves," he said.

Now the high-flying youngster from Lee-on-the-Solent is studying for a Private Pilots Licence which he hopes to clinch at the minimum age of 17.

Then he wants to become a pilot and fly Boeing 747 jumbo jets or other jet airliners if he can find an airline to fund at least half of the £40,000 training fees.

"Hopefully once I get my Private Pilots Licence I will be able to apply to an airline for sponsorship because it costs a lot of money," he said.

Mark is a member of Solent Flying Club based at the airport and also has a part-time job working for the club in the week.