TALK LIKE A
Pilot
As a young girl, Barbies and baby dolls didn’t spark the same excitement in me as they did in other girls my age. Instead, I was drawn to my dad’s vacuum tube collection and fascinated by circuit boards. It came as no surprise to those who knew me that I would become the youngest amateur radio operator in the state of Indiana at the tender age of eight. Honestly, I assumed all little girls were just like me.
flight lessons at the age of fourteen. Balancing school, homework, and flight lessons wasn’t easy, but I had a bright idea. I decided to approach my high school principal and persuade him to allow me to take flight lessons during my study hall period. Armed with my enthusiasm for flying, I presented my case, explaining how this would jumpstart my career. To my surprise, he wholeheartedly agreed, with one condition – I had to show him my logbook weekly. It was a proud moment when I informed him that I had completed my first solo flight on my sixteenth birthday.
Growing up, I had the privilege of traveling extensively with my parents. During one of our longest journeys, a flight on a Boeing 747 took us all the way to Australia. I vividly remember approaching the flight attendants, asking if I could peek inside the cockpit. It felt like a magnetic pull. Later, I discovered that I could plug headphones into the armrest and listen to air traffic control communications. For the next five hours, I was enraptured. Upon landing, I turned to my parents and declared my desire to “talk like a pilot.” I was hooked.
The path to aviation was not without turbulence. Looking back on my journey, I encountered numerous obstacles that could have grounded me had I let them. One obstacle shook me to my core and could have deterred me from taking flight. After high school, I had set my sights on attending one of Indiana’s leading aviation universities. I was a straight-A student, but my SAT scores were only average. I assumed my extensive flight experience would guarantee my acceptance, but it didn’t. The rejection letter was a devastating blow. My family believed in me, but it didn’t lessen the disappointment. I questioned if my dreams were attainable until I recalled a lesson from years of watching Olympic figure skating with my mother. Those young athletes had practiced for years for a brief moment of glory on the ice. Even after years of practice, some would fall. My mother would look at me and say,
Fast forward to high school French class, where I swiftly realized that learning French was not my passion. I often found myself daydreaming and gazing out of the classroom window. Then, on a cold Monday morning, something shiny high in the sky caught my attention, dancing amidst the clouds. I might not have been passionate about learning French, but I knew that flying could take me to destinations around the world. My high school was conveniently located next to a small airport (KSMD in Fort Wayne, Indiana). With the unwavering support of my parents, I embarked on
t k e r igh h d ay c a s t s o lo. t h birt 6 ir f 1 y y M me d m pe rf or af te r I
10
By Captain Alyse Adkins
One of my first flight lessons with instructor John Touchard.
Me w Jo h n To uc it h m y f irst f ligh t in st ruct h a rd (w h o is n o w or, a ca p ta in at Je
My flight instr uctors at VU, Chuck Judy (left), as well as one of the airpo rt tenan ts, Howa rd (right).
tBlue).
