Main Blog Posts

My name is Virgine Valck, and I am a 20-year-old aeronautical engineering student, licensed glider pilot and flight instructor from Belgium. Since discovering gliding at the age of 12, aviation has been a major part of my life. Most weekends you’ll find me at the airfield, whether I’m flying, instructing students, or helping to organise activities. Alongside my studies, I have served as a youth ambassador for the Belgian Air Force and joined Elevate(her) Aviation as an ambass

Written by Sana Jumah, @sanajumah It always starts the same: a quiet airfield, a glider waiting on the runway to get launched, and the question of what the sky will bring today. But for me, the sky was not always a place of freedom. Hi! My name is Sana Jumah, and for much of my childhood, airplanes meant something very different to me. During the first few years of my childhood, I grew up in Damascus, Syria. I had a happy childhood until the war began. From that moment on, th

Written by Nadeen Qatameen One thing I didn’t expect when I started my journey in aviation in 2018 was just how alone imposter syndrome could feel. From the outside, flight training often looks confident, disciplined, and linear. The uniforms are pressed, the checklists are followed, and the progress seems measurable. What we don’t see and rarely talk about are the internal struggles many student pilots carry every single day: self-doubt, fear of not being “cut out for it,” c

I’m an airline pilot, keynote speaker, founder, and mentor to women globally. But I didn’t start here. I began my aviation career as a flight attendant. I loved the skies, but I knew I was called to more. I wanted to be in the flight deck. I wanted responsibility. I wanted the weight of decision-making. I wanted to stretch myself! The path wasn’t at all glamorous though as it required humility, studying when I was tired, training when others were resting, and believing in mys

Written by Mya Sandrin My name is Mya Sandrin and I’m from Sarnia, Ontario. I am a recently licensed M2 AME working for Porter Airlines at the YYZ base. I work on the Embraer E195-E2 and DHC-8-400. I’m known for my bubbly personality and high energy! I thrived in high school classes like construction and welding. I have an eye for detail, and I like projects that require thinking and problem solving. My hobby is my social media account on Instagram called @maintence_with_my

By Rosie I was 12 years old when I first knew I wanted to fly as a career. My Dad showed me a Newspaper advert from British Airways which showed a simple picture of the cockpit controls of a Boeing 747. Through the windshield it looked out to a beautiful sunrise with the simple words ‘This could be your office’. These words changed everything. From that moment onwards, aviation wasn’t just an interest. It was the plan! I went on to join the Air Cadets where I learned you coul

By Helen Change is often painted as something we should embrace like a choice, a mindset or a growth opportunity. But like for many of us (I mean I hope it’s not just me), I have found the most defining changes in my life weren’t the ones I would have chosen. They’re the ones that arrived uninvited, unplanned, and sometimes unwanted. I would describe myself, sometimes, as the small silver ball which bounces around the pin ball machine of my own life! Change is the lever that

Written by Siobhan Miller My name is Siobhan Miller and I am an Associate Account Manager at Oaklands Global Aviation Recruitment and Executive Search. In simple terms, I connect exceptional aviation and aerospace professionals with world class organisations across the globe. In reality, my role is far more dynamic than that. Recruitment is fast paced, people focused and constantly evolving. No two days are the same. One minute I am speaking with a candidate about their long

Receiving the Elevate Her Aviation x British Airways Flying Bursary was something I will never forget. It gave me the opportunity to explore aviation in a way I had only imagined, and I made a deliberate choice to use it across three very different experiences, each one teaching me something new and pushing me further toward my goal of becoming a commercial pilot. Gliding I started with gliding, which is about as raw as aviation gets. There is no engine. I was entirely depend

By Mila Petrovic My name is Mila Petrovic, I am 25 years old and I come from Serbia. My journey into aviation began long before I ever considered becoming a pilot myself. My mother used to work as a flight attendant for Royal Jordanian, and through that job she gained curiosity about being a pilot, but life eventually led her in another direction. However, around 10 years ago, she saved money and acquired her PPL licence. Watching her prepare for flights sparked my own intere

Fanni Pajer flies in some of aviation’s most demanding environments, navigating extremes that many pilots will never encounter. She is a highly skilled Ferry Pilot, Flight Instructor and Examiner, and Test Pilot. In this blog, Fanni reflects on her journey through the aviation industry as a single mother, sharing the challenges she has overcome and the importance of taking that first leap to pursue your dream. What is your current role in aviation? I am CFI and CTKI in Finlan

When faced with rejections or setbacks, it is easy to lose motivation and fall into a low mood. The following are healthy habits to adopt and words of encouragement to remember when going through a tough time during your training/career. Actions to add to your daily routine Reflection & Setting intentions Before going to sleep, reflect on the day you had – what brought you joy and what went well. Set an intention for the next day and write it down in your journal. Then, the m

By Namita Gupta How to find that first airline job Apply as soon as you are eligible to. One of the great things about aviation is that you don’t have to finish your training before you can already land your first job. While many airlines require you to have your Frozen ATPL license to apply, there are also opportunities to apply while you’re still doing your training. The quicker you land your first job, the fresher and more recent you will be in your skills, which will be h

Advice for the ATPL theory exams Form a study group My advice to students currently taking their ATPL exams is to form or join a study group, rather than always studying on your own. Although studying independently allows you to focus without distractions, there are benefits to having group study sessions as well: A) You can bounce your ideas off each other. B) You can ask each other questions. Sometimes instructors are busy, and if you’re someone like me who asks lots of que

About me My name is Namita Gupta, and I am 25 years old. I was born in the Netherlands and have lived here for most of my life. I attended an international school and was raised with an Indian upbringing. I have also lived in India, the UK, and the USA. My decision to become a pilot Before my flight training, I studied at Maastricht University. I took classes in Mathematics, Physics, Biology, Chemistry, and Neuroscience. While I was enjoying the course, I couldn’t see myself

By Zoe Cameron-Casey I have always wanted to be a pilot. I set my sights on the career when I was still in primary school and never wavered from the plan as I grew up. Even a near-fatal aircraft accident during my initial flying training in New Zealand, long before joining an airline, didn’t stop me from following that dream. However, that experience did open my eyes to the importance of Human Factors. The engine of the single-engine aircraft I was flying failed, something th

Like many things in aviation, leadership and crew management styles were originally developed from the military. Military-style leadership is a hierarchical, top-down approach characterised by traditionally masculine traits such as assertiveness, decisiveness, and confidence. This method is valuable in high-stakes environments where clear authority is essential. However, an overly hierarchical approach can be inefficient in modern aviation operations, where teamwork and adapt

I never would have guessed I’d be a pilot if you had asked me when I was 18. I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life, and, like so many, I went to college. I received a degree in Psychology in Business and started a career in Corporate America doing sales for a logistics company. Quickly, I realized I wanted to challenge myself and learn something new. I took a discovery flight in a Piper Cub and, as is the case for so many others, my life changed. I fell in love with

Nicola Winter joined the German Air Force in 2004, becoming the country’s second female fighter pilot, flying the Tornado and later instructing. In 2015, she was retrained on the Eurofighter Typhoon, one of only three women to do so. After leaving military service in 2018 as a Major, she transitioned into management consulting, emergency medical service, and space research, while earning advanced degrees. In 2022, she was selected for the European Space Agency’s Astronaut Res

The aviation industry is truly inspiring. Somehow, humans managed to achieve what was biologically impossible and turn it into our new everyday. In 1903, the 12-second flight achieved by the Wright Brothers was considered an unbelievable feat. 122 years later, a metal object soaring at 36,000ft in the sky raises no eyebrows, and typically up to 1.7 million people fly at a time in these machines. However, it is not unknown that the way we fly comes with a cost to the environme