Breaking News: The ‘Maria’ actress told Jimmy Fallon that it was Maddox who first inspired her to get in the cockpit…see more

Jolie got her pilot’s license in December 2004 and in early 2005, she bought the single-engine plane, a Cirrus SR22-G2.

Jolie kept Maddox close while in the air, too: Her tail number contained the letters “MX” in honor of her son. She trained with an instructor as well as with her then-husband Pitt, 60, while the former couple was living in Canada.

A source told PEOPLE at the time that she was a “completely competent, confident flyer,” and noted that Jolie bonded with other female flyers-to-be at the local hangar. “She just beams in the cockpit,” the source added. And in 2017, Jolie shared with PEOPLE that Maddox had also begun flying.

“He’s quite capable and always takes me by surprise,” Jolie said of her eldest son at the time. “He’s been practicing flying, then they called me the other day and said, ‘so Mad can go solo,’ and I nearly dropped the phone!”