By Jacqueline S. Ruiz, EAA 1284903
The first time I developed a love of general aviation was when my husband Juan Pablo and I saw a little airplane at a hot air balloon show in 2014. We decided to buy a discovery flight and that’s when my interest took off, so to speak. At another time that summer, I remember that we flew in this small airplane with no doors. I instantly fell in love with the freedom that experience gave me; it was so beautiful.
My next chance at flight occurred in September 2015 when I was asked to speak in front of 300 soldiers stationed on an island near the Mississippi River. Getting that invitation alone was such a great honor for me. That same day, I had to attend an event celebrating my seventh book in Rosemont, Illinois. With these two events on my schedule, there was no way that I could go to both. To find a solution, I called the aviation school that offered the discovery flight and learned that I was able to fly to an airport and get a military escort to the island. I spoke for 10 minutes and received a standing ovation. I flew back to another airport and was able to make my book event on time.
At the time, I was doing some of the marketing for the school and I was getting more interested little by little and really falling in love with general aviation. Also, that experience of being able to go place to place and making it to both events on time through the power of aviation really sparked my curiosity.
I began to notice so many airports around my area and I knew that the aviation bug was calling me. This calling was intercepting my life in different ways and that mesmerized me. It was after I returned home from a trip that I received what I call a “divine download” and decided to become a pilot. It was such a strong affirmation in my mind that I had tears coming down my cheeks. I said that I was going to be a pilot as a hobby and I didn’t care what I had to go through to achieve my dream.
What I didn’t realize was the commitment. There were many sleepless nights, much studying, practicing through private lessons — those classes were very expensive — and doing solo flights. This was in addition to running two companies and two nonprofits and being an author. After putting in many hours, I received my certificate on July 7, 2018. You see, aviation became an important factor to where it was seeping into my life and the way I looked at life on the ground. I began to make that correlation of aviation to the ground, air, sky, and waves. I try to find every opportunity to express this amazing passion that I have for aviation.
Spreading my wings didn’t mean just enjoying flying through the sky. I wanted to personally share my new love by creating connections with people and having them accompany me on short flights. So far, my youngest passenger was five and my oldest was 80. The sky was the limit in terms of creativity. For example, I developed the #Pilotina brand and, at many promotional events, I gave away more than 500 teddy bears to encourage others to fly high with their dreams. I also created scholarships to those who wanted to get into aviation. Finally, I developed a special online workshop called “Make Your Flight Plan” as a way to help people be their own good pilots by using tools to execute their plans for their personal lives, careers, projects, or businesses.
Flying was very much part of me and I found the perfect opportunity as a participant in the 44th annual Air Race Classic, an all-woman cross-country airplane race scheduled in late June. The event attracts over 100 women pilots. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was canceled.
Though I was very saddened by the outcome, I put my energies in planning an inspirational summer event. Recently, I was proud to present three Latina pilots to share their stories and conduct short flights for selected guests at Bolingbrook’s Clow International Airport in Bolingbrook, Illinois. It was a soft launch my newest book, Latinas in Aviation, by Fig Factor Media, my publishing house.
We were honored by the presence of several local dignitaries such as the village’s Interim Mayor Mary Alexander-Basta, Airport Manager Joe DePaulo, EAA 1007050, and EAA 461 President Wayne Brazinski. Wayne, EAA 1104669, was very grateful to us for bringing the event to the village and the airport. “EAA Chapter 461 has a rich history of promoting aviation across all walks of life as an affordable and highly desirable skill and career enabler,” he said. “This event dovetailed with those efforts and we are very much looking forward continuing this outreach!”
My six-year journey in flight has prompted me to live by my motto: “Taking off is optional, landing on your dreams is mandatory.” Never give up!
