Why We Fly

Exploring aviation's opportunities

When she was 7, she airlined from Nashville to Florida to visit her grandparents. "My dad let me sit by the window. I had my face pressed to the glass the whole time," recalled Gibson, who jumped at the chance to look in the cockpit. "The captain asked, 'Do you want to be a stewardess when you grow up?' And I replied, 'No, I want to be the pilot.'"

She became the first pilot in her family. "My granddad worked on propellers during World War II, in India. And one of my great-uncles helped to design the hydraulics on the [Boeing] 727. But none of them flew," she said. "I had no idea until I became a pilot -- when you become a pilot, aviation stories come out of the woodwork."

When Gibson was 13 and growing up just outside of Nashville, a devoted teacher helped her to get an internship at the Springfield airport. "I didn't know there were smaller airports," Gibson said. "I knew there were such things as little airplanes, but didn't give it much thought."

During the internship she washed and cleaned airplanes, and in exchange she had access to learning materials. "I had my first few lessons there, and bummed a lot of rides," Gibson recalled. "That was a lot of fun."

She earned her private pilot certificate at Springfield and then attended Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) in Murfreesboro. Gibson earned a bachelor's degree in professional piloting and a master's in aerospace education. Her college experience was very rewarding. "You get really immersed in the subject from all aspects. Making contacts is really important," she observed.

"Flying did not come naturally to me. I think everybody wishes they had that James Bond talent, and were able to get in any kind of vehicle and make it go. But I really had to work at it," she said. "And I did learn it. It really paid off, both as a pilot and as an instructor. If it had come naturally, I would not have understood it or appreciated it as much."

Gibson spent three months interning at a major airline. "But I felt like a tiny cog in a big machine," she said. "When I started instructing, I really did enjoy it." As a result, she turned away from her dream of flying for an airline in favor of a career as a flight instructor.

She was a flight instructor at MTSU for three years, and became the chief ground school instructor. Then Gibson had an opportunity to become the airport manager and flight instructor at Sewanee-Franklin County Airport in southern Tennessee. "I jumped at the opportunity, and I haven't regretted it yet. It's been just as fascinating as I thought it would be."

She's been in the position since July 2003. "I understood the piloting side of it, but I've been learning the airport side of it as it goes," Gibson explained. "As pilots we have a list of regulations to study -- I haven't found any study aids for airport management." She has had to piece together FAA, state, and Environmental Protection Agency regulations.

Gibson said that MTSU made pro pilot students take business courses, and while she hated it at the time, now she is glad to have that knowledge. "Just like any small business, there's a huge variety of things that need doing," she said. A trick is finding the expert who can take care of specific problems; now she knows who can fix hangar doors or grease the rotating beacon. "I certainly do get out there sometimes and mow the grass, do maintenance, or pump fuel. It's nice to have the variety."

What does Gibson's future hold? She is fascinated by technology, and by Burt Rutan's SpaceShipOne and other designs. Perhaps she'll go back to school for a science degree. Or she may explore aviation education opportunities beyond her work as a flight instructor. "There are so many cool things to do in life, that I hope there is reincarnation -- I want to do them all," she laughed.