Why We Fly

Mentors chart Montana woman's course

After an introductory flight in 1979, she knew that she wanted to become a pilot. "Both of my brothers learned to fly before I did and were always telling me how much fun it was."

She saved until 1984 to begin flying lessons. With her finances in place, she then had to overcome logistical issues. Beye was working in Missoula, Montana, as a manager in county government, but she lived some distance outside the city. "I got up at 4 in the morning to make a 6 a.m. lesson before work," she said. "My employees always knew when I had a flying lesson, because I came into the office with a big smile on my face."

Beye had no plans to fly for a living. "I was just learning to fly for fun, and to master a new challenge."

But she had a number of very good role models and mentors. "One was a woman who used to fly wildfire spotting patrols for the State of Montana. I told her at one point that I wanted her job when she retired, and she really encouraged me." Beye got the job, and she flew patrols for six years.

She piloted a Cessna 182 from Missoula with an observer on board, looking for smoke. "It looked like fog, but it was 95 degrees outside so you knew it couldn't be fog." They would get a GPS position and contact a fire dispatcher using a special FM radio; often they would help to direct ground crews to the site. "The idea was to catch them when they're small and keep them small. It didn't always work, but most of the time we were successful."

Another mentor who flew taildraggers developed a medical problem; as a brand-new flight instructor, Beye jumped right in to help shoulder his workload until he could get his medical back. As a result, much of the instruction that she's given has been in tailwheel airplanes.

"A third mentor who inspired me was a man who flew for the fish and wildlife service in Montana, counting animals with a biologist and working with wolves when they were reintroduced into Montana and Idaho," Beye recalled. When he retired she got his job, too. On one flight she and a biologist watched a wolf defend her pups from two grizzly bears. "We circled for about half an hour--of course we didn't have a camera. But that wolf drove off two full-grown grizzly bears," she recalled. "I can close my eyes and see that happening. It was quite an experience."

Most of her flying has been in the rugged terrain of western Montana. "I learned to fly here in the mountains, and I'm used to it. I see a lot of people who come out here and want a checkout. They're usually pretty intimidated--the mountains rise from the valley floor, at 3,600 feet, to almost 11,000 feet," she explained. "Density altitude becomes an issue, weather changes can happen rapidly in the mountains, and turbulence is something to be concerned about--you get a lot of mountain wave activity."

Her students must master those conditions from the beginning. Some of them have gone on to fly professionally, she said. "Some of them just plain enjoy flying, and I just love to see that."

Beye is very willing to take on older students, even into their 70s. "It is harder for people who are older to learn, but it's much more rewarding for them when they do master the skills. I think they make excellent pilots once they 'get it.' I say you're not too old--if you can pass the medical [exam]--try it."