Ann Kass is a District Judge in the Second Judicial District State of New Mexico. Divorced parents often have very different perspectives about what their children want or need. The father noted that's how he too had got his information. The child had told his father that he loved flying. A child telling each of his parents different things is a common occurrence in divorce cases.
Children are remarkably astute at figuring out what grownups want to hear, especially their parents.
One way to make a parent happy is to tell each of them what they want to hear. At the same time, he knew his father liked flying and wanted him to fly unescorted. Children trying to make both parents happy is one of the major reasons why courts so often recommend children of divorced parents have counseling. One of the dangers a child who is trying to please both parents with opposite points of view faces is the loss of his or her own point of view. They get confused and lose touch with their own feelings.