Commercial and Military Airplane and Helicopter Pilot
Hi, My name is Kathleen but my friends call me Kat. Katelyn, my adorable
niece who is 7, asked me recently what it is like to “drive” an airplane. Well, I
have to tell you (and her) that it is kind of like riding your two wheeler
bicycle for the first time without training wheels; the first time you do it
alone you are very happy and proud to realize all the wonderful things you
can do! It’s also kind of like Christmas morning when you get to open all
the presents, leaving a mess of paper everywhere while you go play. It
feels very fun and free.
My first flight was at the age of about 6 months. When I was three years
old, I flew as a passenger by myself for the first time from Puerto Rico to a
small town in Colorado. The flight attendant (or stewardess, as they were
called then) gave me my own set of “pilot wings” to wear and brought me
up to the cockpit to meet the pilots. I remember standing in the middle,
just behind the center console, looking up at all the switches… and then
looking down at all the gauges and switches that the pilots use to fly.
There were switches and gauges everywhere! I wondered to myself how in
the world a person would ever know what to do with all of those things,
much less what they were for.
Later, as I sat in my window seat gazing across the horizon, I was amazed
at the beauty of this world we live in. I’m sure I was dreaming about angels
jumping from cloud to cloud, kissed by the sun as they leapt, having fun
and feeling free. I thought it would be wonderful fun to be able to look out
at puffy white clouds every day while at “work” and decided then and there I
wanted to be an airline pilot some day.
Life took a circuitous route. In college I had an Army ROTC scholarship and
during my senior year, I requested to be put in the Aviation branch. I had
heard it was extremely difficult & didn’t have the highest of hopes, but
somehow it happened! I became an Army helicopter pilot and went on
active duty for about seven years (flying the UH-1). I LOVE flying
helicopters, and I LOVE to hover! Then I went into the reserves where I
became an airplane pilot, also (flying the C-12). After a total of 13 years
with the Army, I transferred to the Air National Guard and began flying C-
130s. During the Air Force training, I flew the “Tweet” (T-37) and
“Jayhawk” (T-1), which are both jets. Every other airplane I have flown has
propellers.
In the meantime, while I was not on active duty, I took a job as General
Manager in charge of all the airline fuel for the airport in Austin, TX. I flew
airplanes a lot on the side for fun and built up a lot of flight hours, and then
applied for a job with the commuter airlines. I was happy and surprised to
get my wish of being an airline pilot and got a job with United Express
(Beech 1900s) mostly flying out of Denver. At the time, flying in the Rocky
Mountains was the most fun I’d had in an airplane.
After September 11, 2001 I was activated by the Air Guard to be a part of
Operation Noble Eagle (Homeland Defense operations), then later was sent
to Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and
Enduring Freedom (in Afghanistan). Even under the worst of
circumstances, flying in combat was a heck of a lot of fun, although very
dangerous…you have to pay close attention to everything you do and
everything around you. I flew about 90 hours in combat and then went
home early for a military education program. The next year, I was sent to El
Salvador to work at the US Embassy in the Military Group.
I am still in the Air National Guard but have requested some time off to
attend graduate school to study International Security at American
University in Washington DC. International Security is a big term for
studying national defense, war and peace issues, and I’m especially
interested in it where the military and diplomats are involved.
Today, I know that it truly IS possible to understand all those cockpit
switches, gauges, and the mechanics behind them. I know what the angels
feel like when they dance among the clouds, because I have surfed through
them. I know what it is like to hover, and I think hovering may be even a
more amazing experience than landing. I don’t have God as my co-pilot…he
is my Captain, and I go where he sends me. Sometimes I just rent a plane
and fly somewhere for lunch to get a hamburger…they call that the $100
hamburger.
I’m not sure how flying will fit into my future because higher education is
taking me in a different direction, but I will never stop flying! We’ll have to
see. As the song says, “Why walk when you can fly?”
Hi, My name is Kathleen but my friends call me Kat. Katelyn, my adorable
niece who is 7, asked me recently what it is like to “drive” an airplane. Well, I
have to tell you (and her) that it is kind of like riding your two wheeler
bicycle for the first time without training wheels; the first time you do it
alone you are very happy and proud to realize all the wonderful things you
can do! It’s also kind of like Christmas morning when you get to open all
the presents, leaving a mess of paper everywhere while you go play. It
feels very fun and free.
My first flight was at the age of about 6 months. When I was three years
old, I flew as a passenger by myself for the first time from Puerto Rico to a
small town in Colorado. The flight attendant (or stewardess, as they were
called then) gave me my own set of “pilot wings” to wear and brought me
up to the cockpit to meet the pilots. I remember standing in the middle,
just behind the center console, looking up at all the switches… and then
looking down at all the gauges and switches that the pilots use to fly.
There were switches and gauges everywhere! I wondered to myself how in
the world a person would ever know what to do with all of those things,
much less what they were for.
Later, as I sat in my window seat gazing across the horizon, I was amazed
at the beauty of this world we live in. I’m sure I was dreaming about angels
jumping from cloud to cloud, kissed by the sun as they leapt, having fun
and feeling free. I thought it would be wonderful fun to be able to look out
at puffy white clouds every day while at “work” and decided then and there I
wanted to be an airline pilot some day.
Life took a circuitous route. In college I had an Army ROTC scholarship and
during my senior year, I requested to be put in the Aviation branch. I had
heard it was extremely difficult & didn’t have the highest of hopes, but
somehow it happened! I became an Army helicopter pilot and went on
active duty for about seven years (flying the UH-1). I LOVE flying
helicopters, and I LOVE to hover! Then I went into the reserves where I
became an airplane pilot, also (flying the C-12). After a total of 13 years
with the Army, I transferred to the Air National Guard and began flying C-
130s. During the Air Force training, I flew the “Tweet” (T-37) and
“Jayhawk” (T-1), which are both jets. Every other airplane I have flown has
propellers.
In the meantime, while I was not on active duty, I took a job as General
Manager in charge of all the airline fuel for the airport in Austin, TX. I flew
airplanes a lot on the side for fun and built up a lot of flight hours, and then
applied for a job with the commuter airlines. I was happy and surprised to
get my wish of being an airline pilot and got a job with United Express
(Beech 1900s) mostly flying out of Denver. At the time, flying in the Rocky
Mountains was the most fun I’d had in an airplane.
After September 11, 2001 I was activated by the Air Guard to be a part of
Operation Noble Eagle (Homeland Defense operations), then later was sent
to Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and
Enduring Freedom (in Afghanistan). Even under the worst of
circumstances, flying in combat was a heck of a lot of fun, although very
dangerous…you have to pay close attention to everything you do and
everything around you. I flew about 90 hours in combat and then went
home early for a military education program. The next year, I was sent to El
Salvador to work at the US Embassy in the Military Group.
I am still in the Air National Guard but have requested some time off to
attend graduate school to study International Security at American
University in Washington DC. International Security is a big term for
studying national defense, war and peace issues, and I’m especially
interested in it where the military and diplomats are involved.
Today, I know that it truly IS possible to understand all those cockpit
switches, gauges, and the mechanics behind them. I know what the angels
feel like when they dance among the clouds, because I have surfed through
them. I know what it is like to hover, and I think hovering may be even a
more amazing experience than landing. I don’t have God as my co-pilot…he
is my Captain, and I go where he sends me. Sometimes I just rent a plane
and fly somewhere for lunch to get a hamburger…they call that the $100
hamburger.
I’m not sure how flying will fit into my future because higher education is
taking me in a different direction, but I will never stop flying! We’ll have to
see. As the song says, “Why walk when you can fly?”
 |
| Using aviation to entertain and educate girls about their limitless opportunities... |
| Using aviation to entertain and educate girls about their limitless opportunities... |
| Using aviation to entertain and educate girls about their limitless opportunities... |
TM
| Click here to read Kat's write-up on Careers in Aviation. |
