By Michelle Trobaugh, EAA 1266567
When I first learned that I was chosen for one of the scholarships I had difficulty believing it. What a thrill it was when the check arrived at the flight school and I was able to take my first lesson. When I submitted the scholarship application, I was skeptical that someone my age would really be considered for an award. I was wrong. Now, I tell my story to everyone who is looking for a little help to further their flying dreams. I am grateful to the Experimental Aircraft Association Scholarship Selection Committee for this award, and most of all the Florence “Coffey” C. Gregory Endowment, for their generosity. I am still very humbled and excited to have been selected for this honor. With the help of the scholarship, I was able to finance and earn my Commercial Pilot Certificate in December 2020, much sooner than I would have been able to do on my own. In addition, I am now able to accelerate the start of CFI training.
Dad was in the U.S. Navy, working as aircrew in anti-submarine warfare aboard P-2V Neptunes and P-3 Orions. I grew up seeing airplanes fly to and from the military bases where we lived. I loved hearing the sound of the engines as they would spool-up and fly over. As I grew, I wanted to learn how to fly but I also knew that learning to fly is prohibitively expensive. I needed to find a way to afford to become a pilot if I ever wanted to achieve my dream of flight. I also knew I wanted to be in the military. When I was old enough, I enlisted in the Navy Reserve and learned about avionics to help pay for college as I knew I needed a degree to be a naval aviator. Those were difficult years, I was working full-time, attending college full-time and working in the Navy part-time. I achieved the rank of Petty Officer Second Class, earned my associate’s degree in 1989 and was accepted into the Naval Aviation Cadet program shortly thereafter. I completed Aviation Officer Candidate School (AOCS) in 1990 and later that same year I started flight training in a T-34C, Turbo Mentor, only to be caught in the Navy’s Reduction-In-Force following Desert Storm in 1991.
Believing I was permanently barred from what I thought was my only reasonable path to aviation, I left it behind and found a new path to follow. I didn’t think I would ever be back. In 1991 I applied and was accepted into Texas A&M University, having no idea what an Aggie was (I found out), only knowing they had the engineering program I wanted to study and it was a highly endorsed program. I had lived many places thanks to my father, but I’d never ever been to Texas.
In 1994 I married while still in college and graduated with a degree in Ocean Engineering at Texas A&M University in 1995. After graduation, I found work in the oil and gas sector of Houston, Texas, started a family, and started my non-flying career. I had a life devoid of aviation, but I had a husband, two wonderful daughters, a dog, some cats and a career as a subsea construction engineer.
In 2000, my husband asked if he could buy me a quarter share in a Grumman Traveler so I could fly again. I thought he was crazy, there was no way we could afford an airplane. He laid the budget out and showed me how it could be done. We bought the share and suddenly, I was once again living in a world filled with aviation, and best of all I could share it with the family.
I finished my private pilot certificate in 2000. I set a world speed record in type and frame in 2003 from Atlanta to Kitty Hawk (and Kitty Hawk to Atlanta) with a friend for the 100th anniversary of flight. I got my instrument rating in 2013. I was amazed to discover that there was a wide world of normal, everyday people enthusiastic about airplanes and flying. I discovered and joined AOPA, EAA, the Ninety-Nines and Women in Aviation International. In 2017 I convinced my husband to get his private pilot certificate. In addition, my eldest daughter is pursuing a career in aviation. In 2019 my daughter and I were able to attend the International Conference for the 99s in Dayton, Ohio and then my husband and I went to AirVenture for the first time – WOW.
I have more than 25 years of experience in offshore subsea construction and installation. I am a professional engineer, pilot, mother and a wife. I am an active member of EAA Chapter 302 in Conroe, Texas and I am proud to support and represent EAA and general aviation. I am ecstatic to have earned my Commercial Pilot license, thanks to the scholarship program, and look forward to the next phase in my flying career, earning my Certified Flight Instructor credentials.