S2E8- Memphis-Based Retired FedEx Captain, Patricia Kessler

In this episode of Chicks Who Fly, I get to have a conversation with Memphis-based retired FedEx Captain, Patricia Kessler.

Patricia was first exposed to aviation when she married a man who had always wanted to take flying lessons and she sat in the back seat during a lesson. That sparked her love for flying. Patricia soon got a job w the Dept of Defense, joined the Army Reserves and applied to a reserve squadron at McGuire Air Force base and joined a military flying club near Philadelphia where she began her pilot training. After her time in the military, Patricia flew for People Express Airlines, and when they were bought out by Continental Airlines, she moved on to Fed Ex, where she would become a Captain and stay for 25 years.

This lady has flown all over the world and we get to talk old-school flying stories, challenging approaches, challenging aircraft, favorite places she’s seen in the world, cool airports, flying unusual cargo, insane airline policies that they could never get away with in this day and age, how she landed the job at FedEx and so so many great, fun, surprising and entertaining stories of flying and life. Don’t miss this interview with this awesome lady!

Episode 17 - Instrument-Rated, Private Pilot, Owner of One Plane Jane, Christine Hannon

In today’s episode, I get to have a chat with Christine Hannon of One Plane Jane. As a kid, Christine used to take walks with her grandfather to KAIY, Bader Field, in Atlantic City, pushing her favorite baby doll in its pink stroller. Together, they would watch the planes take off and land. Christine’s parents told her she could do anything. But she never got the idea to become a pilot until a bit later in her life.

Christine started out in the aviation industry as a ramp agent. A big part of the reason she took the job was because of the travel benefits but she grew to love the company and the aviation industry. While applying for a leadership position in her job, a friend recommended she learn to fly, and off she went.

Today, Christine is an instrument-rated Private Pilot, working on her Commercial Certificate. She lives in Madrid, Spain with her husband. She owns and runs One Plane Jane, a company that creates products to empower women, inspired by female aviators. Christine believes that it is our responsibility to show little girls they can be pilots and to celebrate not just what each woman does, but who she is and what she is capable of.

In today’s conversation, Christine and I talk about how she met her CFI, what her training was like & about her life in Madrid. We talk about her future aviation goals, her company, One Plane Jane, the life lessons and discipline that aviation gives you, using aviation to make a difference in the community and much more.

This was a fun, informative and inspiring conversation with a cool and badass pilot, adventurer & entrepreneur that I hope you enjoy as much as I did.

You can connect with Christine on IG , Facebook or on her website.

Theme music by Diego Jinkus.

Photos courtesy of One Plane Jane.

Check us out at: https://www.patreon.com/chickswhofly

Episode 16 - You Tuber, Private Pilot & Columnist, Pilot Annie

In this 16th episode of Chicks Who Fly, I get to have a conversation with Pilot Annie, a Private Pilot out of Collingwood, Ontario working toward her Commercial License. She volunteers for many different organizations and also writes as a columnist and feature writer for COPA and Wings Magazine. She is on the Board of Directors for The Northern Lights Aero Foundation and a proud First Canadian Chapter Ninety-Nine.

In today’s conversation, we talk about the detours and scenic routes taken in her pilot training despite falling in love with aviation early on. We talk about online ground school training versus in-person ground school, the differences in training in Canada versus the US, the challenges and highlights of flight training, her love of adventure flying and bush flying, being in a relationship with another pilot and much more.

ATP Rated, Owner of Aubrey Aire, Founder of Collecting Copilots, Aubrey Warrick

Aubrey Warrick is ATP Rated on the Falcon 10, 50 and 900, Lear Jet and SIngle pilot-rated on the Citation 500 series Jets. She is also the founder of CollectingCopilots.com, a platform for your aviation, travel and lifestyle needs. Aubrey is a graduate of Eastern Michigan University with a Bachelors in Aviation Flight Technology and currently Manages and flies for her Part 91 company, AubreyAire out of East Texas.

In today’s conversation, Aubrey and I get to talk about her passionate love story with aviation. From the moment she fell in love with flying as a young child, in a family where no one else is a pilot, to the emergency landing in Longview, Texas that started a whole new life for her in aviation and in love, and where she remains 9 years later.

Aubrey is charming, tenacious, badass and smart. She generously shares her knowledge and support with others, especially, women in aviation. These qualities are what make this conversation so inspiring and motivating to me.

Episode 13 - Pilot, Hair Stylist, Salon Owner and Host of the Cockpits and Cocktails Podcast, Allyssa VanMeter

I have a chat with pilot, hair stylist, salon owner and host of the Cockpits and Cocktails podcast, Allyssa VanMeter, a.k.a. Fly Allyssa.

Allyssa was bit by the aviation bug when she took a helicopter tour of Hawaii during a vacation there. Alyssa is currently using her COVID-19 quarantine time to study for her instrument rating. In our conversation, we address the challenges of flight training, the extraordinary pride she felt when she passed her check ride, the surprising perspective that aviation gives her in flight and in life, personal minimums, time management, the wonderful aviation community, finding opportunities in unexpected setbacks and the importance of priorities. Allyssa also shares some of her aviation story and anecdotes, including that one time she stayed overnight in the FBO.