Boring week..

Nothing special happened this past week. A lot of timely assignments were due and I was only able to be at the airport two days this week. I am very excited to increase my hours. I recieved mmy official membership card for WAI (Women in Aviation) which is exciting. It gives me many benefits including discounts at Hertz, which is cool. I also applied for a scholarship. I am hoping to recieve the funds to further my aviation experience and pursue a more advanced certificate.

Shhhh...

This week my boss brought forward an idea he has for me in the near future. It would be a very demanding position, one that I will need to think a lot about. I am not allowed to tell anyone of it because he needs to go through HR to create the position, so I will try to keep what I say very general.



This position would be given to me because I am the only woman and it is one that would be good for the woman pilot to hold because it is such a male dominated environment. He needs a strong woman who is good at what she does and he thinks I would be good at this role! So exciting! This would bother the Flight Instructor who had been working there a month before I was hired because I am still the rookie. This would ultimately lead to the usual banter about how everything in this career is made easier for a woman. Which is not true by any means. They were always just jealous that a woman could fly just as well as they could ;-). Although this situation is different because I was in fact given the opportunity because I am a woman, but I wouldn't be offered it if my boss didn't think I was fully capable and qualified. Very exciting.



An update on the Air Race Classic: I had submitted the final spreadsheet to my boss and he confided in one of the Aviation Professor so get her support in the matter. We also found out there is very limited funds remaining in the Aviation Department, which may lead to approaching someone of a higher ranking at the college.



We'll see how it goes...

Air Race Classic

Each year women pilots trek around the country and no, not on foot, no, not by car, yes, by plane. Two or three women hop into their small airplane and join many other women from around the country on a three day adventure. I have always wanted to take part in this and this year I am truly making an effort. My boss has put me to work looking at all the figures and how much it would cost to send two girl on this expedition. It would be me an one of the students at the Training Center. Unfortunately BSC will not allow us to take one of the College airplane's thus leaving us to join another team of women. I really wish the college would let us take the airplane. It would truly be an amazing experience and beneficial not only to the pilot but the college. This would be major advertising to the college, flying across the country in a plane with our logo in it would bring A LOT of women pilots our way.

It would be a 10 day expedition and a whole lot of fun. Whether I am able to take one of the college's planes or join a team I would be ecstatic to engage in such an experience. The Women's Air Race Classic 2009 starts in Denver, CO then stops at Liberal, KS, Sweetwater, TX, Lufkin, TX, Russellville, AR, Grenada, MS, Sparta, TN, Jacksonville, IL, Racine, WI, and finally comes to a close at Atlantic, IA. The women must travel to all the cities and finish within three days. This could be an amazing experience for me and one of the BSC Aviation women students and I truly hope it is approved by BSC. Wish me luck!

Its Not as Bad as I Thought...

Phew!! The guys at work accepted me real quick. Friday afternoon we were all sitting around talking like we had been friends for a while. At that point I knew everything would be 'ok'. I am very excited to be there more often. The atmosphere is very relaxed and welcoming.

My other job is as a waitress at a local Italian restaurant in Westboro, MA. I thought I would tell you this because it is the complete opposite of my job as a flight instructor. The entire waitstaff are women, therefore I am constantly surrounded by the same gender which is what I have become accustomed to over the past two years. It is a very different atmosphere. I have never been one to get in with a clique. It's not my type of thing. When working at the restaurant there is a clique and it is very annoying, but because i have been around long enough i brush it off and don't get involved. The first few months I worked at the restaurant I felt like the 'outcast', it took a long time to feel accepted. After two years I am accepted, but not interested in getting involved with the clique. At my job in New Bedford, MA as a Flight Instructor I felt welcomed after one week! This brings me to the conclusion, girls will be girls and guys will be guys. Girls will always have their cliques and guys don't even bother to form such groups. I enjoy the change in atmosphere from one job to the next and it also lets me analyze how different the two genders do behave.