Armstrong - A chick in the cockpit : my life up in the air

Praise for A CHICK IN THE COCKPIT

In the rarified atmosphere of flying, Armstrongs memoir of life as a female pilot gives us a fascinating glimpse into a world where men still rule. But its her write-from-the-gut style of story-telling and the unexpected turbulence she meets, not just in her career but in her personal life, that will captivate you. A Chick in the Cockpit is at turns riveting, informative, and break-your-heart funny.

~ Lee Woodruff, NY Times bestselling author of In an Instant; Perfectly Imperfect A Life in Progress; Those We Love Most; contributing reporter for CBS This Morning

Captain Armstrong writes like she flies, smooth and professionally. She brings to her work originality and humor, which is rare in aviation literature. Her success flying the heavy iron for the airlines is a must read for any woman considering a career in aviation or facing the challenges of balancing work and home.

~ Darcy Vernier, 3 Distinguished Flying Crosses, ATP, CFI, CFII, BA

Captain Armstrongs powerful message of keeping sight of ourselves and our own hopes and dreams is a winner.

~ Dorothy C. Westby, Captain, Boeing 727, retired

Refreshingly smart and funny. Capt. Armstrong isnt afraid to show her humanity and humiliating moments, and demonstrates deep courage and conviction. Figuring out how to have it all is an ongoing question in most womens lives.

~ Kristen Moeller, MS, Author of Waiting for Jack

Reading her work reminds you that life is about fun, even though we have to live through some despair. Through tragedy we sometimes find meaning.

~ David Lazaroff, Author of Live It Up!

Behler Publications

A Chick in the Cockpit My Life Up in the Air

A Behler Publications Book

Copyright 2016 by Erika Armstrong

Cover design by Yvonne Parks - www.pearcreative.ca.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher, except where permitted by law.

Some names have been changed to protect their privacy.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Armstrong, Erika, author.

A chick in the cockpit : my life up in the air / by Erika Armstrong.

pages cm

ISBN 978-1-933016-14-6 (pbk.) -- ISBN 1-933016-14-0 (pbk.) 1. Armstrong, Erika. 2. Women air pilots--United States--Biography. 3. Airlines--United States. 4. Women in aeronautics--United States. I. Title.

TL540.A677A3 2016

629.13092--dc23

[B]

2015027700

FIRST PRINTING

ISBN 13: 978-1-933016-14-6

e-book ISBN 978-1-933016-20-7

Published by Behler Publications, LLC

USA

www.behlerpublications.com

Manufactured in the United States of America

To my dad, my flight instructor, my life instructor.

Fix bayonets

To my little chickies, the reason for everything

To Dave, for following Man Law

To my Book Club Warriors...now you know the whole story

Authors Note

I mean no harm or disrespect to anyone in this story. The only way to tell this story is to tell the story, the way it happened to me. There is enormous public value from this story, so dont judge the individuals; judge the overall story.

Its my opinion of how my life happened, and I am presenting the facts as I know it to be true. In the meantime, I have removed and changed names, dates, and settings to protect the guilty as well as the innocent. I am grateful for every person in this book and because of you; you will be helping others to find their own wings to soar. In this spirit, I honor all of our mistakes, including my own, so that others can learn.

I am a pilot and everything that definition means. I wrote this story the way I experienced it, but my story will prove I am not infallible. I apologize if I misinterpreted the facts, but I agonized in presenting them in context and as close to the truth as possible.

W elcome Aboard

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard your flight with multiple destinations. As you step off the jet bridge onto my aircraft, take a quick glance into the cockpit. Yep, thats me sitting in the captains seat and thats my first officer laughing about how he accidentally locked himself out of his hotel room. Naked. Again.

Were both a little ripe from flying for the last five days, and this is our fourth trip leg today, but youll also notice that were still smiling. Thats because we have spent years and thousands of hours training and living an uncommon lifestyle to be up here for you. We know what were doing, so we have time to enjoy the here and now. We hate all the bureaucracy and company politics that go with the job, but we love being in our pilot seats. That smirk you saw on all the pilots faces as you walked through the terminal is from years of humble arrogance.

As you walk down the aisle and bang the heads of other passengers with your carry-on bags, look for an open bin to stow your bags. Youll be carrying baggage for the rest of your life, so you might as well learn how to stow it properly. Make sure its small enough to fit and that its secure because if it falls out when we encounter a little unexpected turbulence, others could get hurt. Turbulence is only dangerous when its unexpected.

Locate your assigned seat and strap in. You are now our passenger. For the next few hours, you have to turn your life over to us. Its hard to trust others, but it must be done if you want to get somewhere quickly. We will hand over control of our lives many times without giving it much thought because its what we must do as humans in a complex society. Trust and doubt, give and take are endless cycles that are part of our human experience and there are moments when you dont have a choice about being in control. During those moments, youll just have to tighten your seatbelt and trust that others will get you through the storm.

Those flight attendants hustling up and down the aisle are part of our crew. You probably ignore their safety briefing, but as always in life, we dont realize what we dont know until there is an emergency. Those emergency exits are actually really heavy and hard to open, and Ill bet most passengers sitting in the exit row couldnt get those emergency exits open. But they wont figure that out until there is an actual emergency, and then it will be the flight attendant, whom they ignored, who will save their life.

Our route today will take you through a segment of my life up in the air, and you will see things you could never imagine. Since I have been locked in the cockpit with men for several thousands of hours over the years, I have been given a perspective few get to experience. To help you see a different perspective, I am giving you a checklist to use as we move along our route. It will take you from gate to gate and when were done, we will have both learned a little more about what it takes to fly.

Now...just sit back, relax and enjoy the flight. Its going to be a bumpy ride.

Preflight Briefing

Copilot checklist:

Dont touch anything

Keep your mouth shut

If a copilot wishes to offer advice as to how this aircraft should be flown, be advised of the mistletoe hanging on the captains backside

Before a flight crew begins their duties for the day, they perform a Preflight Briefing together to discuss the known variables for that days flight. The captain will begin by briefing the flight attendants on potential events that are outside of perfect day parameters. Maybe there is an air marshal onboard, or its snowing, so the aircraft will need to be de-iced, or there is a delay at their arrival airport that will hold them on the ground at the departure airport. Since pilots and flight attendants dont get paid unless the cabin doors are closed, theyll collaborate to get the flight started, even though they might have to wait at the end of the runway.