Expert: D. Norkus - 12/14/2008

Question
I have always wanted to fly airplanes.  I started flight school back in the 80's but ended up getting married and starting a family, which put everything on hold.  My children are grown (not necessarily on their own) but I feel it's time for me to get back to fulfilling my dreams. Which is to be an Air Ambulance Pilot.  I have my private certificate and have been trying to finish up my instrument rating for the last year, but with the economy the way it is and my husband losing his job, it hasn't been easy.  So my question is, what are some ways to get involved in the industry BEFORE having the ratings/hours I need?  Or are there any scholarships available for older women in this area?  Would getting my EMT Cert be a good idea?  Any help would be extremely appreciated.
Thanks, Christy

Answer
"What are some ways to get involved in the industry BEFORE having the ratings/hours I need?"

Christy,

Not sure which "industry" you mean. If you mean aviation in general, then I bet you probably know of the same avenues I'd suggest like working at a flight school or FBO. If you are speaking of the air ambulance career path, I can't address that as my area of knowledge is the airlines. However, here is a post on the topic of having medial training and wanting to fly emergency medical services/EMS from my women pilots (The Ninety-Nines, Inc) email network:

"I have just joined the pro99s network and look forward to membership with the 99s soon. As a student pilot I thought I would put my goals out there and ask for advice. I'm a medical professional and looked forward to this day having taken my passion for flying off the shelf. I plan completing private pilot and moving on through and to commercial pilot. Am very interested in MedFlight. Would appreciate any suggestions or advice re my journey towards this area of MedFlight."

Response-
"I too was interested in Air Ambulance type work but quickly realized that as a medical professional AND a pilot, if I was looking the work as a pilot they weren't hiring me for my medical skills- they were hiring me for my flying skills.  You can't do both!  That's not to negate any expertise and understanding that you may have on how critical a situation may be. However, you cannot let that cloud your thinking and decision making when it comes to flying the airplane.  (ie. get there- itis) Your job as a medflight pilot will be to get the rest of the team there SAFELY even if it means diverting. There are pressures even in non-medflight flying where you must say- SAFETY first we'll worry about the other details later.  So, just keep in mind that you must be the pilot first and that's what they'll be hiring you to do"

So, it seems that if you are going to apply yourself, just stick to working on your pilot training if that is what you really want to do. Not that it is impossible a company would be interested n apilot ith dual qualifications but at this stage in the game, you really need to be qualified as a pilot to get hired so that should be your focus- building your time and getting your ratings. If you want to join the women pilots network, you may as a guest for a limited time and participate. We have a few pilots with EMS flying experience. However, I would highly encourage you to simply join the International Organization of Women Pilots: The Ninety-Nines Inc and become a member.

"Or are there any scholarships available for older women in this area?"

Not only will you find the career networking and mentoring you need in the "99s" listserve eNetworks but the organization also offers flight scholarships that pay for an entire pilot certificate or rating. There may also be a schoarship in your area for which you qualify. Many Ninety-Nines chapters give their own scholarships. For example, the San Diego 99s give out 4 awards totaling $5,000 annually. Find out more about the 99s and locate a chapter near you at http://www.ninety-nines.org

See a listing of scholarships at my website- http://www.FlightScholarship.info

While making a career change won't be easy, it can certainly be done. Check this list for some more ideas on how to build up your flight time- http://www.flightinfo.com/buildtime.htm
Offering to share costs and be a safety pilot is a way to reduce the expense and still log time.

A link of interest-
The National EMS Pilots Association http://www.nemspa.org/
They also have an email listserve for networking. Perhaps even as an aspiring EMS pilot, you can sign up there and get some advice as well- http://www.nemspa.org/fly-ems-help.htm

Hope this helps,
Dottie