CENTENNIAL, Colo. (KDVR) — There are a few ways for you to soar like a bird — you can hang glide, you can skydive (although that’s more like falling) or you can learn to fly an airplane.

FOX31 took a ride with Jonathan Prichard, who’s been doing just that since he was knee-high to a Piper Cub.

“When I was a little kid, I’ll say maybe 6 or 7 years old, my dad, he flew and he’d take me up when I was little. I got the bug really early,” Prichard said.

Starting out, Prichard put in a lot of simulator flight time in the comfort of his own home.

“For me, I feel I picked it up fairly quickly. Maybe because of all the flight simulation I did at home when I was little,” he said.

At Centennial Airport, Prichard is enrolled in Independence Aviation Flight School where he is learning to fly without looking out of the cockpit. They call it IFR: instrument flight rules.

“VFR stands for visual flight rules. That means I have to maintain separation from the clouds. I can’t fly in the clouds. Whereas with an instrument rating, I can go in the clouds,” Prichard said.

And that’s exactly where he feels at home.

“I’m not thinking about anything stressing me out at home or with work,” Prichard said.

It’s the freedom to go wherever and whenever he wants. Just like a bird.