Member Showcase: Jessica James

Jessica James

Member Showcase

Jessica James

How long have you been flying for? I have been flying since the fall of 2012. What made you want to become a pilot? A few things...firstly, I was very fortunate enough to have grown up in a very small aviation related community, Nimpo Lake. (Fun fact-At one point Nimpo Lake was actually known as the floatplane capital of British Columbia.) Being surrounded around aviation from birth defiantly started my flying bug. My first flight in a Cessna was actually at 6 months old with my parents. Secondly, when I graduated high school I didn’t know what I wanted to do, my Mom has always been a big advocate for school, so I had to pick something. (Thank you Mom! :) ) Knowing that someday I wanted to get my PPL I started with that, then continued on with my CPL and the rest is history. What do you enjoy most about flying? The people that you meet, the family it creates and the places that it will take you. What is your favourite place to fly or visit? Why? This one is hard...it continually changes and there are so many places I want to see. But...the one that will always stay the same is probably Anahim Lake, BC. (Closest airport to my hometown.) What is your go to in-flight snack? Flying commercial with an open cockpit concept you don’t get to snack but my favourite in flight beverage is and always will be London Fogs. What is your favourite club aeroplane? My favourite at the time was WLY & BMO. What about becoming a pilot was the most surprising, challenging, or rewarding for you? Surprising: how much I repeatedly fall in love with aviation. Challenging: never giving up, even though there have been lots of obstacles along the way, including our current one, COVID. Rewarding: getting checked out commercially on a DHC-6. How has flying changed your life? Goodness these are good questions! It has changed my life in many ways. Too many to count or probably realize. It's how I have met my long term boyfriend, how I have met my closest friends, my mentors, and many, many amazing people along the way. It has also given me the opportunity to see beautiful places on the coast while creating memories and stories. I look forward to what it has in store for me after the pandemic is over. If you could fly anywhere − and I mean anywhere − where would it be? The Maldives and Africa. One piece of advice you’d pass along to other pilots? The industry is very very small, always be a good person. What's a truly memorable flight/experience you've had? Another good / hard question. Simply stated, there are so many. There have been captains that have taught me about flying and about myself in a short amount of time that have made a lasting impression. Landing at Sonora lodge and having a grey whale greet us near the dock. Learning tail dragger from one of my favourite humans. Having a very kind older passenger state that she was proud to see a women pilot because she never had the opportunity when she was my age. All the milestones along the way, those first solo's, achieving flight tests, your first commercial briefing, learning something new then nailing it. There's too many to mention and I look forward to the ones that are yet to come. Are there any other stories or anecdotes you'd like to share? We're all ears! There's so many going through my head and some that would only apply to a few but in a nut shell; there's days that are going to be really tough, but if you love it, it's worth it.