Success Story

Gena Lee Adams Franklin, New Hampshire Age:31 First officer, NetJets Aviation Total time: 3,200 hours; 1,800 multiengine; 1,400 turbine

Gena Adams describes her job at NetJets as a great place to be. She loves her schedule and has 100 pilot bases to choose from. But like most professional pilots, Adams has followed a long road to her current position.

Adams knew from a young age that she wanted to fly. And at the age of 19, she began taking lessons at Sky Bright in Laconia, New Hampshire. After acquiring her ratings, the owner/chief pilot asked if she wanted a job as an instructor and charter pilot. "I was lucky. The owners and managers were great to work for and always had safety in mind first. It was a very relaxed and friendly environment," said Adams. When she wasn't flight instructing in training airplanes, Adams was flying charters in Beechcraft Barons and King Airs. "I learned a lot in a very short period of time, thanks to the owners and other pilots I flew with."

To speed up her career track into bigger and faster equipment, Adams took out a student loan and bought a type rating in the Cessna Citation 500 series. Shortly after, she was flying as a contract first officer (FO) and built 100 hours in a Citation II before it was sold. Her jet time led her to a full-time job flying as an FO in a Lear 60. "The Lear 60 is a great airplane and I'm glad that I had the opportunity to fly it," said Adams.

Never complacent to settle, Adams pressed on and landed an interview at NetJets Aviation. But for Adams, this was her first real interview. She studied the regulations, interview styles, and information from the Internet. "But the most important thing was to just be myself," Adams said. It paid off. NetJets hired Adams as a first officer in the Citation Ultra. "The pay is great, the people are very nice, the aircraft are well maintained and fun to fly, and the schedule of seven [days] on and seven off is nice," says Adams.

Is Adams content where she is now? Absolutely."I hope to stay here until I retire."

Pete Bedell is a Boeing 737 first officer for a major airline and contributor to AOPA Flight Training and AOPA Pilot magazines.