"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard your flight. As you step onto my
aircraft, take a quick glance into the cockpit. Yep, that's me sitting
in the captains' seat, and that's my first officer laughing about how he
accidentally locked himself out of his hotel room. Naked. Again.
We're both a little ripe from flying for the last five days, but we're
still smiling because we have spent years and thousands of hours
training and living an uncommon lifestyle to be up here for you.
For the next few hours, you have to turn your life over to us. It's hard
to trust others, and there are moments when you don't have a choice
about being in control. During those moments, you'll just have to
tighten your seatbelt and trust that others will get you through the
storm.
Our route today will take you through a segment of my life up in the
air, and you will see things you could never imagine. Since I have been
locked in the cockpit with men for several thousands of hours over the
years, I have been given a perspective few get to experience. To help
you see a different perspective, too, I am giving you a checklist to use
as we move along our route. It will take you from gate to gate, and when
we're done, we will have both learned a little more about what it takes
to fly.
Now...just sit back and relax. It's going to be a bumpy ride."
Erika Armstrong has worked every aspect of aviation in her twenty-five
years in the industry, including an international corporate airline
captain. She is an award-winning staff writer for Colorado Serenity
Magazine and is a professional pilot columnist for Disciples of
Flight, NYC Aviation, Contrails, Flying, LinkedIn, and Business
Insider and is the owner of Leading Edge Aviation Consulting.
