Remember back probably in middle school when we learned all about Venn diagrams? You know, the circles. Each one represents a characteristic, and where they overlap, you have the thing that the marketing department is probably looking for…
But when it comes to aviation one that always keeps coming up is men, women, and pilots. Not all men are pilots, not all pilots are men. Not all women are pilots, not all pilots are women, and where the overlap part comes in, there’s the individuals who are women and pilots.
Stay with me, I’m going somewhere with this.
There’s another Venn diagram that keeps coming up too. And it’s where the pilot circle overlaps with the controller circle. There’s this tiny little sliver where I find myself, along with a few others who play both sides of the mic. It’s cozy in here, and if you want to hang out, you’ll find Me, Clay Taylor from Airways Magazine, RH and AG from Opposing Bases, and maybe a few others. And the little sliver gets reeeeealy small when you talk about controllers who are CURRENT pilots. Not “were” or “was in a different life.”
Today’s guest is pretty noteworthy as she’s got a little of every circle I’ve mentioned thus far. And is generally known as one of the best controllers around. Or was at least, and we’ll get to that. But she comes from a tower pretty similar to mine, and form what I’ve heard, knows how to rock a mic on either side.
This is gonna be a fun day…
Welcome to Podcasting on a Plane, I’m Brandon Gonzales, Tower Controller, CFI, Former Aircraft salesman, Aviation podcaster, and connoisseur of the Venn diagram… broadcasting as always from the Tower at mythical, yet oh so real West Coast Delta, and this is the podcast where we talk about the backstories behind all that we do in air world.
Sometimes on the flying side, sometimes on the ATC side, and sometimes both. And from what your feedback tells me, those are the favorites, so be glad you listened today because that’s what’s about to happen.
Now I mentioned Venn diagrams earlier. And we found ourselves in a really tiny overlap, but I’ve got just one more circle to add. What about not only controllers who are pilots, but those who actually CARE. People who don’t just hold certificates and go to work, but people who go to work because it’s their purpose. It isn’t just a job.
