Lear 60 Pilot
I'm a pilot living in the Southwest suburbs of Chicago. I live with my pilot
boyfriend and we have a CRAZY Siberian Husky named Haleakala after the
volcano on Maui. We call her Holly, though. My boyfriend owns 2 Cessna
310s and runs his own 135 charter operation.
My grandmother used to live near an airport that is now a huge shopping
center. My uncle flies radio-controlled planes. There were a few dads in
my neighborhood growing up who were private pilots, but I wasn't REALLY
interested in flying until High School. We had an aviation class (what a
GREAT high school!) and I thought to myself, "This is fun! Certainly beats
a desk job! Maybe I'll study it in college!"
I always liked doing things that were different, not real mainstream (you'd
think I'm some sort of punk but I'm not!). I knew I didn't really want an
office job where I had to wear a suit and all that jazz. When aviation
presented it to me, I took it and ran! My parents were very supportive. I
think my mom is really proud that I'm in a male dominated field. I never
really found anyone who stood in my way. I think there were one or two
old men who thought "girls shouldn't be pilots" but more than that, I think
they thought it was a pretty cool novelty. I think the lessons I really
learned are that you have to have supreme confidence in yourself. Know
that you've been trained well and you know what you need to do to (rule
number one!) FLY THE PLANE!
I learned to fly at the University of North Dakota. We trained in Cadets
(which are Cherokee 160s), Arrows, and Seminoles. Since then, I've flown
mostly Cessnas in the single engine realm and a Cessna 310 as a twin. I
have had a little bit of an opportunity to fly a King Air 200, and now I'm
type rated in a Lear 60. I don't own my own airplane, but it's certainly on
my radar. A co-worker owns a decathalon which I think is SO cool, I really
would like to learn some aerobatics!
I am a first officer on a Lear 60. I get to fly a lot with this company, which
I really appreciate. I have a friend who works as an FO and hardly ever
gets to touch the controls. Our crew is really great, we all share most of
the jobs cleaning the plane and organizing the charts. My captains are
great at teaching me captain skills, asking me, "what would you do?" kind
of questions and showing me how to do paperwork and really involving me
in everything. I'm looking forward to becoming a captain and maybe flying
one of our Challengers one day!
Why do I enjoy my job? What's not to enjoy!? I think flying is the
coolest job EVER. Some of the guys I fly with have been doing this for a
long time and complain about long flights and stuff, and I can't even begin
to imagine feeling like that. I've been flying cargo in a C310 for almost 10
years before the Lear, so it's not like I haven't been there/done that. I
ask them what on God's green earth they'd rather do, and nobody can
ever really come up with an answer...(One guy said he'd like to be an adult
film star, but I think/HOPE he was joking!)
I love flying above the clouds and seeing the sunshine when everyone on
the ground is having a dreary day. I love going to different places and
seeing the sights. I love knowing that when it's 8 degrees in Chicago I can
go somewhere where it's 80! I love the guys I work with. I love flying a
jet. I love flying a single engine recip where you can fly low and see all the
sights. I love sharing the joy of flying with others by instructing.
I still don't think this is REALLY funny, but my captain sure did...we had
flown somewhere to do a charter for a certain broker, who had sent a
fedex package full of magazines and pens and business cards and the like.
I walked in and got it from the woman behind the counter. Somehow
missed my captain on the way out and he asked her about the package.
She said, "oh your flight attendant already got it." I asked him if he
corrected her and he told me he was laughing too hard. What a
jerk...Now, I don't want any of you flight attendants to think that I dislike
you or your job, but it's just the assumption that a girl must be a flight
attendant that bothers me...It's not the first time I've been mistaken for a
"stewardess" (I LOVED that one) nor will it be the last, I'm sure.
BONUS: What role do skills in math, science, engineering and
technology play in supporting your job? What training did you
undergo getting to where you are? Math and Science were my favorite
classes going through school (I know, what a nerd...) I'm a really logical
thinker, and like puzzles and challenges, so I think aviation is a great fit for
me. You really need to understand how your aircraft works, and so having
a good background in Math and Science really helps.
What activities do you suggest for young children or young adults
to prepare them for a career like yours? I didn't really have any
childhood activities, but just going to your local airport and watching
planes. If you hang around long enough, someone will probably ask you
to go flying! Find out about Young Eagles events, volunteer at fly-ins,
take lessons, read books, find a mentor.
I really love what I'm doing right now. I might like to fly something a little
bigger, but I definitely want to stay in General Aviation. My company really
treats us right, and promotes from within, so I'm not really looking to
leave. If I find the right part 91 corporate job, I might take it, but I really
enjoy the charter world.
I used to give tours and do career days for local high schools when I was a
new flight instructor. The airport where we're based now does tours, but I
wouldn't mind trying to find some career days. I try to offer an aviation
badge to friends with kids involved in Girl Scouts, but have had no luck so
far. I'll keep trying! I think it's important to foster interest in aviation all
around!
I'm a pilot living in the Southwest suburbs of Chicago. I live with my pilot
boyfriend and we have a CRAZY Siberian Husky named Haleakala after the
volcano on Maui. We call her Holly, though. My boyfriend owns 2 Cessna
310s and runs his own 135 charter operation.
My grandmother used to live near an airport that is now a huge shopping
center. My uncle flies radio-controlled planes. There were a few dads in
my neighborhood growing up who were private pilots, but I wasn't REALLY
interested in flying until High School. We had an aviation class (what a
GREAT high school!) and I thought to myself, "This is fun! Certainly beats
a desk job! Maybe I'll study it in college!"
I always liked doing things that were different, not real mainstream (you'd
think I'm some sort of punk but I'm not!). I knew I didn't really want an
office job where I had to wear a suit and all that jazz. When aviation
presented it to me, I took it and ran! My parents were very supportive. I
think my mom is really proud that I'm in a male dominated field. I never
really found anyone who stood in my way. I think there were one or two
old men who thought "girls shouldn't be pilots" but more than that, I think
they thought it was a pretty cool novelty. I think the lessons I really
learned are that you have to have supreme confidence in yourself. Know
that you've been trained well and you know what you need to do to (rule
number one!) FLY THE PLANE!
I learned to fly at the University of North Dakota. We trained in Cadets
(which are Cherokee 160s), Arrows, and Seminoles. Since then, I've flown
mostly Cessnas in the single engine realm and a Cessna 310 as a twin. I
have had a little bit of an opportunity to fly a King Air 200, and now I'm
type rated in a Lear 60. I don't own my own airplane, but it's certainly on
my radar. A co-worker owns a decathalon which I think is SO cool, I really
would like to learn some aerobatics!
I am a first officer on a Lear 60. I get to fly a lot with this company, which
I really appreciate. I have a friend who works as an FO and hardly ever
gets to touch the controls. Our crew is really great, we all share most of
the jobs cleaning the plane and organizing the charts. My captains are
great at teaching me captain skills, asking me, "what would you do?" kind
of questions and showing me how to do paperwork and really involving me
in everything. I'm looking forward to becoming a captain and maybe flying
one of our Challengers one day!
Why do I enjoy my job? What's not to enjoy!? I think flying is the
coolest job EVER. Some of the guys I fly with have been doing this for a
long time and complain about long flights and stuff, and I can't even begin
to imagine feeling like that. I've been flying cargo in a C310 for almost 10
years before the Lear, so it's not like I haven't been there/done that. I
ask them what on God's green earth they'd rather do, and nobody can
ever really come up with an answer...(One guy said he'd like to be an adult
film star, but I think/HOPE he was joking!)
I love flying above the clouds and seeing the sunshine when everyone on
the ground is having a dreary day. I love going to different places and
seeing the sights. I love knowing that when it's 8 degrees in Chicago I can
go somewhere where it's 80! I love the guys I work with. I love flying a
jet. I love flying a single engine recip where you can fly low and see all the
sights. I love sharing the joy of flying with others by instructing.
I still don't think this is REALLY funny, but my captain sure did...we had
flown somewhere to do a charter for a certain broker, who had sent a
fedex package full of magazines and pens and business cards and the like.
I walked in and got it from the woman behind the counter. Somehow
missed my captain on the way out and he asked her about the package.
She said, "oh your flight attendant already got it." I asked him if he
corrected her and he told me he was laughing too hard. What a
jerk...Now, I don't want any of you flight attendants to think that I dislike
you or your job, but it's just the assumption that a girl must be a flight
attendant that bothers me...It's not the first time I've been mistaken for a
"stewardess" (I LOVED that one) nor will it be the last, I'm sure.
BONUS: What role do skills in math, science, engineering and
technology play in supporting your job? What training did you
undergo getting to where you are? Math and Science were my favorite
classes going through school (I know, what a nerd...) I'm a really logical
thinker, and like puzzles and challenges, so I think aviation is a great fit for
me. You really need to understand how your aircraft works, and so having
a good background in Math and Science really helps.
What activities do you suggest for young children or young adults
to prepare them for a career like yours? I didn't really have any
childhood activities, but just going to your local airport and watching
planes. If you hang around long enough, someone will probably ask you
to go flying! Find out about Young Eagles events, volunteer at fly-ins,
take lessons, read books, find a mentor.
I really love what I'm doing right now. I might like to fly something a little
bigger, but I definitely want to stay in General Aviation. My company really
treats us right, and promotes from within, so I'm not really looking to
leave. If I find the right part 91 corporate job, I might take it, but I really
enjoy the charter world.
I used to give tours and do career days for local high schools when I was a
new flight instructor. The airport where we're based now does tours, but I
wouldn't mind trying to find some career days. I try to offer an aviation
badge to friends with kids involved in Girl Scouts, but have had no luck so
far. I'll keep trying! I think it's important to foster interest in aviation all
around!
 |
| Using aviation to entertain and educate girls about their limitless opportunities... |
TM
| Using aviation to entertain and educate girls about their limitless opportunities... |
TM
| Using aviation to entertain and educate girls about their limitless opportunities... |
TM
| Kim and her boyfriend |
