WAI? To meet other women who really love to fly! January 22, 2008
Posted by Juice in California, Flight.Tags: California, Flight, Pilot, WAI, WAI Conference, Women in Aviation, Women Pilots
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The WAI conference is coming and I’m totally excited!
It will be my first WAI conference ever, but I read Women in Aviation and I can only imagine that the same type of interesting and helpful information I get from my monthly mag will be super condensed and jam packed into each of the breakout sessions.
This year’s theme is “California Dreamin’” and the location is San Diego (in the far south of CA). What’s great about the conference is that it is focused on topics related to making women better candidates for careers as professional pilots. I’ve been lucky in that I settled into a pretty great job right after getting my commercial license, but I can see where many, many women could really benefit from the discussions, education sessions, and networking that is going to be available at the conference.
Perhaps it is the meeting and talking with a wide variety of women pilots that intrigues me most. I’m a member of the Palms Chapter of the 99s and we are a fun bunch, but with the exception of the CFIs and myself, most of the Women I have met through the 99s have been GA pilots. I can’t wait to see the diverse tapestry of working women pilots at the WAI conference.
It truly is a magnificent feat to work one’s way up to the level of commercial pilot, and the paths each of us have taken from that point on are fascinating. I strive daily to promote future women in flight and to honor those who have come before me. Going to the WAI conference, looking about, and seeing thousands of us all writing the history of today’s aviatrixes will certainly be a sight to see.
Pakistan Takes a BIG Step Forward January 8, 2008
Posted by Juice in Flight.Tags: Aviation, Flight, Military, Pakistan, Women
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This story is a few months old at this point, but I had to remark on my complete astonishment when I saw this video:
Wow, wow, wow! In a society the world sees as at times unruly, and with a military dictator some believe to be tyrannical, these women have achieved something amazing.
I can only imagine what it must have been like for them, day in and day out, striving to prove themselves in one of the most intense of all male dominated atmospheres. The report states that the program was implemented by Musharraf, (no doubt as a way of staving off anti-regime rhetoric from developed nations critical of his other policies) and that must have led to an incredibly difficult dynamic for these women.
History has shown that when cultural shifts come violently from a top down mandate (especially in the military), life can be brutal for the pioneers in early integration programs.
In the U.S. we recall the trials and tribulations of the Buffalo Soldiers, the WASPs, but here we have a culture clash that comes, as some believe, straight from the pages of the Koran. The video has a very positive spin, but I can’t help but think there must have been moments of harrowing fear, dire loneliness, and ritual degradation. Just a few days ago, I read this article that shows women in developed forward thinking nations are still fighting battles every day with the goal of making true womanhood and career flight non-mutually exclusive.
Anyone who has been through a check ride can tell you, getting a pilot’s license in the U.S. is no cake walk. But these women in my opinion have leapt a bar as high, if not higher, than our beloved early American and European aviatrix role models. I salute the women of the Pakistan Air Force, pray we never meet them in battle, and smile as the cause of aviation equality and opportunity marches on.
Busy, Busy, Busy…Holiday!..Busy, Busy… January 3, 2008
Posted by Juice in California, Flight.Tags: Flight, gifts, holidays, shopping
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The holidays this year were amazingly busy. It seemed like I had just put away the costumes and decorations from Halloween and eaten the last leftover turkey sandwich from Thanksgiving, when all of a sudden it was time to go shopping.
I looked at my car keys and thought of the mall, and the traffic, and the hassle and thought, “this year, I’m going to put spin on shopping.” More precisely, a propeller spin.
I realized, it’s 2007 and I’m a pilot! There are tons of little shops and nooks all over the southern coastal region of California from Santa Barbara to San Diego, and I was able to get to a bunch of them by virtue of the local GA airports. I grabbed a couple friends to cut down of the cost of gas and we bopped out of Santa Monica to a host of little spots over a few days leading up to gift giving time.
My family delighted in the myriad of artifacts from differing parts of the map, and I was actually relaxed after shopping for once. It was a totally fun experience, and next year I’m hoping to expand upon my travels to nearby states.
Now, if I could just find a way to incorporate flight into New Year’s…
