Taking the Ride of My Life

I earned my private pilot’s license on my 19th birthday. Three decades later, I took off and landed from the same runway on which I learned to fly, but this time I was a passenger in an historic AT-6 Texan instead of behind the controls of a Cessna 152.

My love of aviation began with my first flight lesson at the age of 14. There is something magical about escaping gravity and soaring with the birds. Everything seems so small when you look down, including your problems. Every time I fly, I experience the same gentle freedom and a feeling of belonging and peace.

I had the same feelings as I recently flew in the trainer plane from the 1940s, but they now meant something different.

When I heard that the Commemorative Air Force Air Power History Tour was coming to Allegheny County Airport, I saw it as a unique opportunity to experience several WWII-era aircraft up close, including the B-29 Superfortress, B-24 Liberator, P-51 Mustang, T-34 Mentor and Boeing PT-3 Stearman.

Attendees could also book rides on the planes, including “Nella,” an AT-6 Texan used by the Women Air Force Service Pilots, or WASPs: civilian women trained to fly various types of military aircraft. WASPs carried out duties such as ferrying planes and serving as flight instructors so that men could go to war and defend our country.

Nella was an advanced training aircraft used at the all-female Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas, where WASPs underwent flight training. Nella operated from June 1943 to December 1944, and since 2017 seven former WASPs have taken rides in her, according to CAF.

On July 1, I met my AT-6 pilot, Sandy Travnicek. I was thrilled to learn I’d be flying with a woman. Travnicek is a professional pilot who volunteers her time with the CAF and has also flown a giant C-5 Galaxy transport aircraft.

After a short briefing about the weather—some rain had just moved out of the area—we walked to the AT-6 with my old flight school in front of us. I pictured my younger self pre-flighting her Cessna so long ago, her whole future ahead of her.

In flight school, there were very few women in my class and in aviation in general. I wasn’t trying to pave the way for other women pilots. It was in my blood; I was just a girl who simply wanted to fly.

My parents always encouraged me to pursue my dreams. It was just a question of my perseverance, strength, and bravery, something I learned from my parents. My mom was a nurse for 50 years and my dad dedicated his entire career to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

I was lucky to have an incredible flight instructor who loved flying more than anyone I had ever met. He never treated me like a ‘’girl,” just a pilot. When I told him how I occasionally received comments about women not belonging in this field, I’ll never forget his response: “The plane doesn’t know if you are a girl or a boy, just how you fly it. So learn to be the best pilot you can be!”