‘Young Sheldon’ Star Iain Armitage’s Bold Admission Has Fans Asking for Updates originally appeared on Parade.
Iain Armitage traded in his bow ties for flight goggles after Young Sheldon.
The former child star, best known for playing nine-year-old Sheldon Cooper on the beloved CBS sitcom, has seemingly been enjoying some newfound freedom since the show officially wrapped on May 16, 2024.
Armitage, who just turned 17, once made a bold admission about his life after the hit show, revealing an unexpected passion that caught fans completely off guard — learning to fly planes.
While attending the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles 2024 Gala on October 5, the young actor opened up about his newest hobby; aviation.
“I just got my pilot’s license, or my student pilot’s license,” he told People at the time. “I hopefully will get my private [pilot ’s license] when I’m 17. And I’ve been having a bunch of fun flying while I’m here in L.A.”
Since then, fans have been eager to know whether he’s earned his private pilot’s license, though Armitage hasn’t confirmed any updates yet.
Still, the actor has already taken his skills sky-high. After turning 16, he celebrated his birthday by taking his grandmother on a flight — one he piloted himself.
“We had a kind of a fun, sort of more subdued celebration in the air. And then right when I touched down, we had a celebration at the airport at Van Nuys, which was so much fun,” he recalled.
Even with her grandson at the controls, Armitage said his grandmother stayed impressively calm throughout the flight.
“She was surprisingly completely calm and collected. I was very, very impressed,” he says, noting that he “was flying such precious cargo.”
He added that the only moment of hesitation came before takeoff. “Her biggest fear was having to climb up on the wing of the Piper [plane] to get in,” he says, adding that after that, “we had the best time. And then we had a wonderful dinner that evening as well with a bunch of friends and family, which was great.”
‘Young Sheldon’ Star Iain Armitage’s Bold Admission Has Fans Asking for Updates first appeared on Parade on Jul 27, 2025
This story was originally reported by Parade on Jul 27, 2025, where it first appeared.
