THE GRIT FACTOR RANDI PEDERSON

People who learn to fly agree that it is an amazing experience that never gets old. So why aren’t more women choosing this thrilling career? In 2022 men comprised nearly 94 percent of pilots but women, just 6% according to Women in Aviation International data.

However, for Randi Pederson being in aviation for 22 years has been nothing short of exciting. She is proud of her years of service while getting to do what she loves. Today she is captain of the flight department at Billion Air, a private Sioux Falls company. But flying is not only her career, it is also her passion.

“I was a farm girl from Iowa, but I knew I didn’t want to stay on the farm,” she recalls. “My interest in flying was further reinforced when I was in high school. I had taken a personality test as a junior revealing my skill set matched that of a pilot. Besides that, I was good at math and geography and enjoyed traveling. I absolutely loved everything about the idea of becoming a pilot including that it was a challenging field.”

Randi never let go of her dream. Wanting to learn how to fly, she searched the Yellow Pages to find a flight instructor. She also chose a college that offered an accredited degree in aviation. Her parents supported her all the way. “They never said ‘no’ or that I couldn’t do it. Their continued support has meant the world to me.”

In December of 2004, Randi graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BS degree in Aviation and a minor in Computer Networking and Applications from St. Cloud State University.

“I didn’t want to stop with my college degree and continued taking classes and flight training throughout the summer. To build on my pilot’s license, I kept going - completing my next rating, and the next, and the next.”

There was something about flying,” she said. “I love having a birds-eye view from above. I get to see the sun when no one else does. And it changes every day. Different places. Different views.”

Still, there were lots of naysayers. “There weren’t many women in aviation, let alone woman pilots. Some of my classmates said I only got my rating because the examiner liked me. Others claimed I got the job because I was a minority.”

Though disconcerting, Randi chose to ignore the remarks.

“I worked 150%; still, I felt I needed to prove I was worthy, capable, and qualified.”

Randi also surrounded herself with great women.

“Two women I met in college – my aviation professor and mentor Dr. Tara Harl, and Beth Vrablic, my colleague, roommate, and fellow aviation major, now my best friend for 20 years – provided me lots of support.”

Randi’s first job was flight instructing at the airport in St. Cloud. “I really wasn’t enthused about it, but that was the best way to build flight hours. And I learned so much from teaching others. In fact, I found I was good at teaching. To this day, I still flight instruct in the Cirrus Aircraft.”

But the negative comments and assumptions about being a female pilot and instructor didn’t stop. “I would hear things like ‘girls can fly?’ and people always assuming anyone male in the plane was the pilot when it was actually me.”

Randi referred to her circle of friends as an “aviation crowd.” It was where she met her husband, Nate.

“I met Nate who was an Air Traffic Controller in the tower in St. Cloud. We got engaged two years later and moved to San Francisco for his job. I couldn’t wait to get out of the Midwest! I wanted to live somewhere new and exciting. It seemed exhilarating.”

Especially nice for Randi was that she and her husband had a shared career and that she learned a lot from him. “We had common careers, and we could talk about them.”

Because she needed flight hours, Randi flew for Skywest Airlines for nearly a year. This was in 2007.

“I realized the airlines weren’t for me. But I knew that before I started. I wanted to work in corporate aviation and be more involved with flight planning and with the customers. Though others pressured me to stay with the airlines, my heart wasn’t in it,” says Randi. “It was an important realization – that I couldn’t do what everyone else is doing. I needed to follow my heart. And all of a sudden, I landed my next job.”

It was with Cirrus Aircraft – the plane with the parachute, that is manufactured in Duluth, MN.

I needed to follow my heart. And all of a sudden, I landed my next job.

“I had my own plane, my own Blackberry, and made my own schedule. I gave demo rides and traveled the western US to assist with events. It was a terrific job. I was working with a lot of social and outgoing people who shared the same passions. And the company reflected my same values.”

In 2011, Randi and her husband moved from California to Sioux Falls, bought a house, and welcomed their first child – Mackenzie.

“I stayed at home for eight months trying to find a job in Sioux Falls. But I didn’t know what kind of job I wanted – fulltime, part-time, or being a stay-at-home mom. I passed up job promotions and turned down opportunities to fly bigger planes. Because I wanted to put my family first, I wanted flexibility. Corporate aviation was the answer to my situation. I was fighting for that balance.”

Randi felt it was important to stay involved in aviation. She assisted in forming the Women in Aviation Great Planes Chapter in which she is currently president.

Randi also felt young women were often misled into thinking they were not capable of being as good or better than boys in aviation and STEM careers. She saw first-hand the critical need to encourage females to pursue STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math). Randi speaks for Southeast Tech at the Women in Science event for 8th-grade girls. Her message to this young audience is about the grit factor – about being strong and doing a good job with every undertaking.

“I tell the girls it is the ‘stuff’ inside of you that allows you to overcome obstacles and criticism and to surround yourself with good, supportive people.”

Not only does Randi enjoy mentoring she loves networking.

“It is how I became connected with many of my corporate aviation people, and it has opened many doors along the way. My current job is captain for Billion Air in Sioux Falls. I fly a Challenger 300 as well as the KingAir 350. I manage the hanger and the plane.”

Randi just turned 40. At this point in her life, she says she is content with where she is at career-wise and on the home front. Her daughter Mackenzie is in the 6th grade at Brandon Valley Intermediate School and her son Max is in the 3rd grade at Fred Assam Elementary.

“Nate and I love to travel across the country. The two of us ride motorcycles and enjoy trying new restaurants. The whole family loves camping, fishing off the dock in the summer, and going to Vikings games.”

Randi says it is all about finding a real work-life balance.

“It was a gut instinct. I listened to it. I used it. I followed it.” n