Tag Archives: women

Yes, I Fly Helicopters

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But come on, get real.

Yes, I fly helicopters for a living. Yes, the red R44 parked out in the dirt is mine. Yes, I bought it new and paid every penny of the $346K it cost, plus interest on the 8-year loan I needed to finance it. Yes, I am aware that’s more than your house probably cost. It’s definitely more than what my house cost.

I’m sorry, but no, just because a friend of yours introduced you to me in a bar tonight doesn’t mean I’m going to take you for a free ride. So don’t waste any more time telling me that you want me to fly crazy and swearing that you’ll sit still while I do so — as if that somehow matters. I have no intention of taking your creepy ass for a ride and would likely find an excuse not to do it even if you did offer to pay me. Which is unlikely. How much do I have to rudely text one of my friends while you jabber about the movie set you worked on 20 years ago in a failed attempt to impress me? How long before you realize I want nothing to do with you? How long before you just go away?

Thank you, yes, it is a beautiful helicopter. You should see it when it’s clean! But no, flying it is not a hobby. As a matter of fact, I have found a way to get paid for hovering. Imagine that! How else do you think I could afford to fly it? Do you think I’m independently wealthy? Or that I’ve got a sugar daddy paying my bills? Amazing that a woman can build a career flying helicopters, no? That someone is actually willing to pay me to do it. Amazing.

What’s that you want? The pay for a commercial helicopter pilot? The “lowest to highest salary and the average”? I’m sorry, but no, I don’t have detailed information about the pay scale for helicopter pilots. I’m an owner/pilot, not a career counselor or headhunter. I know what I make but that’s none of your business. I can tell you this: people who fly helicopters for the money are usually disappointed.

Four moronic men in four days. Just a sample of the kind of idiotic assumptions and questions I put up with from complete strangers. Don’t they think before they communicate? Don’t they realize how rude they’re being by making their assumptions about me and my life? By asking their questions in such a demeaning way?

Yeah, I know I get cranky about things like this. But seriously: four in four days?

Women Pilots in Another Time

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A video.

One of my Twitter friends, keech560, shared a link to this YouTube video. Although I don’t usually embed the videos I like on my blog, this was “a keeper” — a video I want to watch again and remember. It reminds me that women weren’t always accepted in aviation — or many other professions — and gives me an idea of what it must have been like to be the first woman airline pilot.

As you watch this, think about all the fine minds we’ve held back because of gender, race, or other factors. We’re all people; we can all achieve the same dreams — if given the chance.

No Need to Bash Sarah Palin

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Why I don’t need to bother.

It might seem as if I have it in for Sarah Palin. I do. She’s severely under-qualified for the position they’re placed her in. As a woman, I’m insulted that they obviously thought they could put any woman who looked good in a skirt in this position to capture the female vote. I don’t agree with the few policies she’s voiced — for example, anti-abortion, even in the case of rape — and I certainly don’t want to see another Evangelical “Christian” anywhere near the White House.

And doesn’t having an unmarried, pregnant teenage daughter say anything about her failings as a mother? (I know it says a lot about abstinence only sex education, as I pointed out here.)

Yet I’ve personally said very few things against her in this blog. Why?

Because I don’t have to. Everyone else is doing it for me. All I have to do is link to the articles, jokes, and videos I find on the Web.

And I’m not even looking for them! They come to me from my friends — including folks who live in Alaska — via e-mail and Twitter. They come to me from as far away as the U.K., Portugal, and New Zealand!

I just sit back and follow the links I get. If I find something I think is worth sharing, I pass it along.

So I have no need to bash Sarah Palin. I’ll let the rest of the world do it for me.