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I never imagined my life would change in such a wonderful, indescribable manner after joining Whirly-Girls International Women Helicopter Pilots in 2016. The prospect of receiving a scholarship after recovering from cancer was unimaginable to me. It was Whirly-Girls who proved me wrong.

Getting a scholarship has changed my life in many ways, not just financially; that was not the only benefit I experienced.

"Soaring with the Hawk" is what I titled my article after completing my "Advanced Mountain Flying Training" with Western Helicopter, located in Riverside, California; I was awarded this scholarship by the Whirly-Girls International Women Helicopter Pilots in 2018, sponsored by Whirly-Girl founding member Nancy Livingston Stratford WG#4. 

Pete Gillies and Bob Spencer, are at once highly skilled Master Pilots and the most outstanding instructors for advanced mountain flying training up to 10000 feet I could have.

I recall one of my favorite moments and the reason for entitling the article "Soaring with the hawk". Bob and I were flying above a rock edge when a hawk flew beside us as we performed my favorite maneuver, which was to put the helicopter MD-500 -- called "the Ferrari" -- in forward motion and suddenly stop abruptly over the spot, turn 180° without flying a circle and losing the spot, and get back in motion without losing speed of the turn, like police do.

Nancy and I first came into contact after my advanced flight training at Riverside and many times thereafter, and I can remember that she had a funny, humorous way of motivating me if I felt down.

Nancy, Whirly-Girl number WG# 4 and one of the 13 founding members of the Whirly-Girls Organization, provide all pilots, irrespective of their gender, with a source of inspiration, motivation, and confidence to pursue their goals.

Laura, Alison, Julie, Joni, Kim, Lisa, Anne, Georgina, and so many other Whirly-Girls members helped me, supported me, and encouraged me to try what I thought was not possible.

As an intro to my article "Whirly-Girls in Europe", which appeared in the magazine Helicopter Life, I used a passage from Simon Sinek's book, "Infinite Game". This passage describes wonderfully the motivation behind the Whirly-Girls International Women Helicopter Pilots organization:  "The true value of an organization is measured by the desire others have to contribute to that organization's ability to keep succeeding, not just during the time they are there, but well beyond their own tenure."

Please click the button below to read my article featuring Whirly-Girls in Europe.

I would like to highlight that Editor Georgina Hunter-Jones of the magazine Helicopter Life received the Excellence Award at HAI EXPO in Dallas 2022.