She’s a Fire Boss boss

In 2013 in Talkeetna, Alaska, Young, then 17 years old, discovered Build A Plane, a nonprofit organization that gives young people the opportunity to build airplanes. She enjoyed working on aircraft, and after she graduated high school she applied to the airframe and powerplant mechanic program at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Working part time as an assistant at Everts Air Cargo, she got her A&P certificate in 2015 and was hired there as a mechanic.

Everts Air Cargo uses its four Douglas DC–6 aircraft and one C–46 to transport fuel and food to remote, unimproved gravel and ice runways in Alaska, and while Young enjoyed her “wrenching” job, she had her sights set on the flight engineer position these aircraft required. So, she worked on and passed the FAA flight engineer exam and practical test, obtaining a waiver as she wasn’t yet 21. She received her flight engineer certificate in March 2017 on her twenty-first birthday. However, “there was a bit of an issue, I was told they didn’t want a female for this position, but I was able to prove them wrong with my very strong work ethic and after that, they were very accepting,” Young said. “I have 2,500 hours flying fuel around. I loved the DC–6’s four radials, the pilots were very cool, and I got to fly all over Alaska, which was amazing.”

Provided she paid for the fuel, Everts allowed her to use its Cessna 182, and she convinced a co-worker who was a CFII to train her. Within 11 months she got her private pilot certificate, instrument rating, and commercial pilot certificate.

“I immediately found a school in the Lower 48 that could take me on short notice to get my multiengine rating,” which she earned in 2019, Young said. But she didn’t stop there. Thirteen months after her first flight lesson, she took her FAR Part 125 checkride in a DC–6 and in 2020 she passed her second-in-command checkride in the C–46. After she had accumulated 1,000 hours flying commercially and combined those with a third of her hours as flight engineer, she earned her airline transport pilot certificate and her type rating in the DC–6 and DC–7. She also found the time to earn her flight instructor and instrument instructor certificates.

In 2021, during a stop at Galena, Alaska, while flying cargo, she saw a Fire Boss, an Air Tractor equipped with a pair of Wipline 10000 amphibious water-scooping floats for aerial firefighting. Young had a tour with the pilot. She was so impressed that she took a leave of absence to get trained on the aircraft, which included 10 hours of AT-802 flight simulator training she paid for out of pocket, as well as aerial dispersal time performing jobs such as tree fertilizing to build time. She also passed the required course at the National Aerial Firefighting Academy and was hired by Dauntless Air in February 2022. In March 2022 she was OAS (Office of Aviation Services)-carded.

“I love being alone in the cockpit,” Young said, adding that she loves the formation flying and group tactics involving anything from two to eight aircraft total. “Scooping is challenging,” she said. It requires 10 hours of training before the solo and several more to get a good understanding of it. “Even if you’re a high-time float pilot, scooping is nothing like flying.”

In 2022, Young flew her first fire in Alaska. Then 26, she was the youngest Fire Boss pilot and first woman to fly a Fire Boss on a mission.

Young was born and raised in Alaska and credits her parents and the work ethic they instilled in her for her career. “They were extremely supportive and encouraged me to do what I love,” she said. As an Alaska Native, Young was able to benefit from the Native American Career and Technical Education Program, which paid for part of her tuition at Fairbanks, and for her tools.

“Alaska is very beautiful, and I don’t want to spend the summer anywhere else,” she said. She shares her hangar home with a Piper PA–18 Super Cub. In 2022 she earned her rotorcraft commercial pilot certificate and she is thinking about getting a Robinson R44.

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