Clay Aiken says he'll need to be sedated as son trains to be a pilot
Singer Clay Aiken's son, whom he shares with longtime friend Jaymes Foster, is now 16 years old.
And he's already working toward a major life goal.
While talking with People, Aiken revealed that his son Parker Aiken is training to become a pilot.
'He's known what he wants to do for, gosh, his whole life,' the former American Idol contestant revealed to People. 'It was a little weird to me because I didn't know what I wanted to do — I still don't.'
According to the proud, albeit nervous, father, Aiken said Parker has never once 'changed his mind' when it comes to fulfilling his dreams of being a pilot, sharing that the teenager has 'just went and did his first solo flight two weeks ago, so a big milestone there.'
'Now we're planning on the next one, which I'll need even more Xanax for,' Aiken admitted to People, noting that flight will consist of flying across the state on his own.
'I'm not going to be able to see the plane,' Aiken explained, saying he has yet to join Parker on one of his flights, although his mom Jaymes Foster has. 'You're gonna have to sedate me. Just call an anesthesiologist because I don't have the nerves for that,' despite the rave reviews Parker has received from his instructors.
'His instructors all have said he's better than the adults that they've taught, but like I said, he's been focused on it for years, and that's what he wants to do,' Aiken told People.
'I'm not worried about his skill level. I'm worried about the plane. I told him, 'When you are flying in a big plane, we can talk, but I don't do those JFK Jr. planes.''
'He knows what he's doing,' Aiken conceded, per People. 'His idol is [pilot] Sully Sullenberger,' who famously landed a commercial plane in the Hudson River after a bird strike disabled both engines, 'and he wants to be as good as him. And that's what he puts his energy into, and I think he is.'
Aiken appeared on the second season of Fox's 'American Idol' TV show, according to his website. He finished second place on the show in 2003, TV Insider reported.
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