Name: Danielle Reynolds
Age: 33
Event: Private pilot checkride
Where: Cable Airport, Upland, California (CCB)
Airplane: Piper Cherokee 180
Danielle Reynolds (left) with designated pilot examiner Carol Joyner.
I’m still excited and it’s been a little more than a week since I passed my private pilot checkride. It hasn’t been an easy road but being an elementary- school teacher has allowed me to share my progress with my students and their families. My students were very encouraging and enthusiastic about my flying, and I had two students who helped me study during our lunchtime. Hopefully I can inspire the next generation to pursue a career in aviation.
‘Keep plugging away’
A nervous flier finds her passion
Name: Donna Barrett Wood
Age: 51
Event: Private pilot checkride
Where: Oakland/Troy Airport, Troy, Michigan (VLL)
Airplane: Cessna 172
Donna Barrett Wood (right) with CFI Wayne Hendrickson.
I started flying almost two and a half years ago. I was a very nervous flier (commercially), and had no experience in small airplanes. A friend who is also a female pilot took me up and I shared that I was looking for a new passion or path. I laughed when she suggested becoming a pilot. But I tried. For the first 20 to 25 hours, it scared me to simply turn on the airplane. Thinking ahead to the next step caused such anxiety, and the thought of the checkride? I simply didn’t think I was capable. Self-doubt!
I’ve learned that I’m capable of much more than I ever believed. I relied on others’ faith in me when my own was lagging. The key is to keep plugging away, even when it feels as if you are not gaining any distance or altitude. I’m only just beginning.
Related Articles
