At roughly 2,000 feet above ground level, Karen Atkins fell in love. Her husband was sitting next to her when it happened, but there was nothing he could do; Atkins was a goner. And no wonder: it was a beautiful late spring morning in Atlanta. Trees were blossoming. The skies were clear, the views were magnificent—and her husband, Richard Gilmore, had no one to blame but himself.
It all started years before when the couple, having combined households in a real-life Brady Bunch situation—right down to the six kids with matching ages—determined they would give each other only memories for birthdays, anniversaries, and other occasions. For Christmas 2012, Gilmore’s gift to Atkins was a 15-minute helicopter ride over their Atlanta suburb. She decided to save it until early June when flowers were in bloom.
It took only a few minutes in the air for Atkins to fall headlong in love with aviation. She wasted no time in pursuing it. Driving through the Dekalb-Peachtree Airport (PDK) after her ride, she spotted a “Learn to Fly Here” sign. Moments later, she had an appointment for an introductory flight.
This was all pure Karen. As the vice president of sales at a Fortune 100 company, she is known for jumping fearlessly, energetically, and headfirst into any challenge. Flying was no different. “The [introductory] flight was magical,” Atkins said. “Listening to the radios, being in the plane, rotating off the runway. Flying grabbed me by the throat from the get-go.” She signed up for lessons that day.
Roughly nine months and 60 flight hours into her training, she began looking for an airplane to buy. She was thinking she’d like a Cessna, perhaps a 182, and ideally one based near PDK. Shortly after beginning the search, Atkins was asleep at their second home on Amelia Island, Florida, when her husband called at 4 a.m. “Richard couldn’t sleep and got on Craigslist—Craigslist!—and he searched ‘Cessna’ and found a 182 for sale at PDK. And guess what the tail number was? 759KA—my initials!” she said.
Atkins jumped in the car for the six-hour ride back to Atlanta, called the seller as early as civility would permit, and arranged to meet at PDK that morning. The airplane was ideal: a brand-new engine, updated avionics, spotless interior—and old, faded paint that was begging to be re-done just the way Atkins wanted it. She closed the deal and became an airplane owner four months before earning her certificate in July 2014.
Today, Atkins has replaced “six hours of drudgery on the road” with “a joyful two hours” of flight when she commutes between her homes. She is working on an instrument rating and is passionate about sharing flight with others. Recently, she took up a 15-year-old boy who was interested in becoming a pilot and, shortly afterwards, a former administrative assistant who had asked tentatively if Atkins would ever consider taking her flying. “I said, ‘Heck, yeah! Let’s go!’ I took her up the next day and now she has an introductory flight scheduled.”
She is also sharing her love of aviation in her many talks to college students, professional associations, and other groups as part of her work. “College students want to hear about how I got to be VP of sales at a Fortune 100 company,” she said. “The subject of my talks is now lifelong learning and how you should always be stretching to the next level. I also just spoke to a group of business executives on leading high-performing teams and wove in analogies about learning to become a pilot.”
Oh, and the paint on her airplane? She developed a scheme that is executive in style with one exception. Swirling tail lettering reads: Alis Volat Propriis. "She flies with her own wings." Yes, she does—and general aviation is reaping the benefits.
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