Gabby's Final Scholarship Essay

The time has arrived - when we read the final essays of the Girls With Wings Spring Scholarship Winners and anxiously await the announcement of the Summer Scholarship Winners (August 1st).

The Girls With Wings Scholarship Program provides funds for flight training to selected individuals with a willingness to be superlative GWW role models. Winners show potential to continue her interaction with the GWW organization, via the website and events, so she can assist GWW in encouraging more young girls to have an interest in aviation. Part of the obligation for being awarded the scholarship is to submit at least one picture and an associated journal entry once a month for three months to the Girls With Wings blog to share with others her training, as well as email a final essay summarizing how the scholarship helped her, what she learned and her intent to continue her work as a role model and volunteer for the Girls With Wings, Inc., organization.

This is Gabby's final essay:

Outline about ATIS & ATC

If someone asked me, Which is easier to operate: a car or a plane? I would say a plane but not because it's easier, but because its better! Flying a plane is very fun! I like to experience new things and being in the air is definitely one of them. In fact, that is why I enjoy flying so much. Being in the air is a new thing for me, and the flight is different every time so it makes it that much more exciting! I anticipate it every time I schedule a flight lesson with my flight instructor. I scheduled a lesson for July 30th and of course it was different. My CFI let me speak to the ATC, or air traffic control, for the first time. It was intimidating, but I learned how to do it with his help. I learned how to write down the ATIS which includes wind speed and direction, temperature/dew point, visibility, sky condition, altimeter, and runway(s) in use. I also learned how to tune in to the different frequencies for the airport and to ask for clearance before taxing on the runway and before takeoff.

Smiling after preforming slow flight

After that, the lesson for that day was to practice 90 degree turns and slow flight. The 90 degree turns were pretty easy to do. It gave me more practice with maintaining altitude and keeping the vertical stabilizer at zero! The slow flight was simple and easy to do as well for me. It is just the point of remembering that in slow flight, pitch controls speed and power controls altitude which basically means the way to maintain steady flight changes. We stayed in slow flight until my CFI and I decided to go to a different airport to land. We went to Pine Mountain and landed at their short field airport. It was very small and it did not have a tower, but was nice to land at a different airport for a change. The wind was beginning to pick up, so when we were ready to depart, takeoff was difficult. We really had to focus and I had to know how to handle the situation.We managed to make it back to Columbus airport okay, but when we got there, we realized the wind was picking up there too! So, landing and taxing was difficult as well. The ailerons had to be used during taxing to compensate for the wind to keep the plane from blowing over. While my CFI was pushing the plane back into place, I took the tach and hobbes time and logged it down. Then, we discussed the flight, and I left to go home and study!

Pictures after postflight!

My scholarship reward is now used up. Will this be the end of my flight forever? Of course not! I will keep flying and I will stay with the aviation program as long as possible. I will keep my affiliation with the Girls With Wings Organization and I always blog my progress! I feel very privileged to have been chosen to receive this scholarship from Girls With Wings. Without it, I would have never been able to progress in my dream of flying. It helped me to go to the flight school of my choice and to get one of the best CFI's. I'm almost sure I'll be able to get my private pilot license very soon before I go to college at Embry-Riddle. I learned so much as well. I learned how to do almost all the things pilots do such as safely takeoff and land, speak to the ATC, and to work hard. I have every intention of continuing to be a role model to other girls and a volunteer for Girls With Wings. As mentioned before, I will continue to blog and share my stories and experiences with others. I want to say a special thank you to Lynda Meeks for being a great model for young girls and myself as well! Also, thanks to Alaina and Natalie, who are the other scholarship winners, for sharing your stories which I read and will remember as a great example for me!   Thanks again! 

 

Sincerely,

Gabby Howell

[p.s. Awesome T-shirt, Gabby! - Lynda]