Personal Introduction

Hello and welcome to my blog!

I became interested in aviation at a very young age. It must have been around the age of five or six. It all started when my parents would take me and my sisters to see the Air Shows. The sight of the Blue Devils flying over head of us while sitting in my parent’s pick-up truck has never left me. Then in middle school, I participated in the Young Astronauts Program. My love for aviation continued to grow. While visiting my sister when she attended Space Academy in Alabama made so many lasting memories, aviation has stayed with me ever since.

I am currently a senior at Eastern Michigan University and after this semester I only have six classes, but because I took some time away from school to have my son, Dragon, I still have all of my flying portion of my degree to complete. This will push back my graduation date until I can achieve all of my certificates and certifications. Aviation being my second major career and being a non-traditional student, I find myself enjoying the experience. Once I graduate I would like to build my flight hours flight instructing ideally in a warmer climate if possible. Once it is time to move on from that position I would like to become a Part 135 Operator. My ultimate goal is to live in Europe even if this means commuting to work.  

In this class I would greatly enjoy hearing from one of the speakers about being a pilot working internationally either by living abroad or commuting. I would like to know the positives and negatives to that lifestyle. It would also be inspiriting to hear from a female pilot. I am very interested to hear another women’s experience breaking into the aviation industry.

Safe Flying! 

Kat Claphan