Flying Life: The right stuff—Do you have it?

“What got you into flying?” That’s every pilot’s favorite icebreaker. When I was working for the airlines, on those two- or three-day stretches crewing an aircraft with a stranger, the question inevitably came up. Nine times out of 10, the answer is the same: People get into flying because they know someone, an uncle or a father or a family friend who flies. It was the same for me...kind of. My father flew in the U.S. Air Force and then at FedEx, so I was around aviation my entire life. But the strange thing is that I never thought about flying myself until a high school friend invited me to ride back seat during her flying lesson. It took someone who looked like me, in age and gender and educational background, before I could really see myself in that pilot role.

I’ve now been flying full-time for 16 years, and I have had opportunities to fly in all different parts of our industry, including corporate, charter, and the airlines. I currently serve as chief instructor of a large flight school, I have a regular column in a magazine that reaches more than 300,000 readers each month, and I’m one of only four FAA designated examiners in my state. By all measures, most would call that a successful career in aviation. I wonder why it is, then, that I often find myself feeling like I might not be good enough? That one day I will show up at the airport and everyone will realize that I actually don’t have what it takes to be a part of this prestigious community of people who call themselves pilots.

Why is it that I often find myself feeling like I might not be good enough?My guess is that several of you have felt that way. According to psychologist Pauline Clance, who first coined the term “imposter phenomenon,” up to 70 percent of people experience the belief that they are frauds who have managed to achieve their success based on a stroke of good luck. These people believe that they simply don’t possess what it takes to have earned the success on their own, proving that the “right stuff” mentality is alive and well—not just in our own aviation industry but across the board, from poets and politicians to the medical and law professions.

Clinical psychologist Emily Hu says, “We’re more likely to experience imposter syndrome if we don’t see many examples of people who look like us or share our background who are clearly succeeding in our field.” If what she says is correct, then the imposter syndrome could be a contributing factor to the continuing lack of diversity in aviation. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 7 percent of commercial pilots are women, 3 percent African American, 7 percent Latino, and 4 percent are Asian. It’s long been understood that people need to have role models who look like them. In aviation, the numbers say that may be harder to find.

So, what do you do about it, if you’re one of the people who experience this sometimes-crippling belief that you’re not as capable as everybody else? The first thing is realizing that you are not alone. People from every gender, culture, and economic background experience this. In fact, one of my mentors in aviation, a white male check airman at a major airline—who has worked at and loved aviation every single day since college—has often wondered whether he may, at some point, be exposed as a phony. But when we discussed our mutual struggles with sometimes feeling inadequate, I think we both walked away a little bit stronger. The second thing you can do is invite someone out to fly, someone who may not see themselves as a pilot without your invitation and encouragement. Often, the best way to see past our own troubles is to focus on helping someone else along.

Here’s the bottom line: Aviation can be daunting. Whether you are female, or Black, or under- or overprivileged, military-trained or homeschooled, learned English as a second language, or came from whatever other background you believe makes you inherently unsuited, you are wrong. The truth we need to take to heart is this: If you love the way you feel the moment you are being supported by invisible air molecules rather than by solid ground, and you are willing to work hard at learning and honing your skills, then you belong here. There’s a place for everyone in aviation.

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