Women in Aviation

I was a speaker at the Women in Aviation International conference held in Orlando last week. I was there at because I had volunteered to be part of a "Meet the Masters" roundtable sponsored by the National Association of Flight Instructors. NAFI was helping out with the conference by providing an education opportunity for the participants. 14 other master flight instructors from all over the US and I were there for the two-hour session.
I met some pretty interesting people, from student pilots to an Air Force colonel who is flying tankers. I'd say about 100 people took part in the roundtable.
I found out today that 3,200 people were there. I knew it was big, but I didn't know it was that well attended. Not surprising, when you think about it. They had some great speakers, one was a former astronaut, a lady who now runs the National Museum of Flight in Seattle.
A documentary was premiered called Speed and Angels. It is about two Naval aviators and their journey from wanting to be pilots to qualifying in the F-14 Tomcat, including their carrier qualifications. There is some pretty cool footage and insights into what drives them. The one's call sign is "Faceshot". Why? Because he had been shot in the face when he was younger and overcame the obstacles from that to acheive his dream.
If enough youngsters see this maybe they'll realize that it may be tough but if you try hard enough, you can do anything. www.speedandangels.com