Читать книгу The Checklist Book - Alexandra Franzen - Страница 17

When I was nineteen, I dropped out of college and decided I would become a professional helicopter pilot.

My parents, understandably, were somewhat distressed by this sudden and unexpected change of plans.

“Really?” I recall my dad asking me. He is a kind, stoic, sensible man of few words with a strong, Swedish jawline, and the first of his bloodline to graduate from college—a privilege his immigrant parents never had. “Really?” Such bewilderment was layered into that two-syllable question.

My parents were mystified as to why I’d walk away from a generous undergraduate scholarship. My folks were also concerned for my physical safety. They remembered, all too vividly, that it had taken me three separate attempts (yes, three) to pass my vehicle driving exam a few years earlier. (During one of my doomed attempts, I hit the curb while exiting the exam parking lot—to my immense embarrassment.)

I imagine my parents were probably thinking, Alexandra can barely operate a Toyota Corolla on flat terrain at fifteen miles an hour. Perhaps a career in aviation is not the ideal path for our daughter… Needless to say, mom and dad were not stoked. But I was determined to proceed.

Prior to this moment, I had always been a shy, quiet, introverted, artistic child. I had never shown any previous interest in machinery, physics, or any other aspect of aerospace technology. But during a trip to NYC—a sightseeing tour in a chopper, soaring over the Statue of Liberty in Manhattan while the city twinkled below—I was enchanted.

“I want to learn how to fly. I want to become a pilot. This is what I want to do, forever,” I decided, with all the arrogant, iron-clad conviction of a nineteen year old who had done basically nothing in life. “This is my calling.”

As it turns out, I did not wind up pursuing a lifelong career in aviation.

I did, however, work my tail off to earn the money for pilot school, learn how to fly a Robinson R22 (two-bladed, single-engine light utility helicopter), complete a round trip solo flight from Long Beach Airport to Oxnard Airport, pass my check-ride exam, and successfully earn my private pilot’s license.