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Pirate Takes Flight For Career In Aviation

Pirate Takes Flight For Career In Aviation

Perkins High School senior Rose Fanning has lofty career goals – quite literally.

Her “dream of dreams” is to pilot a B-52 bomber or a F-22 fighter. Or, if not military jets, she gladly would captain a Boeing 747 or 787 Dreamliner commercial airliner. 

This fall, Rose took a very big first step toward her goal by acquiring her private pilot’s license – and one that validated her aviation aspirations.

“It definitely made me more confident,” Rose said. “It gave me motivation and determination to go onto my next ratings.” 

Acquiring a private pilot’s license is by no means a simple task, said her instructor, Dave Lapp. There is ground school where students learn about aeronautics, weather, navigation, and flight planning. Then, there is flight school when students actually learn to takeoff, land, cross-country, and make other maneuvers, as well as flying during the day and night.

“Rose always was one who enjoyed when we got to fly,” Mr. Lapp said. “You could tell that she wanted it.”

One of the biggest steps in her training, Rose explained, was the solo flight – without her instructor.

“Your first solo is fun but so scary at the same time. You keep thinking, ‘where’s Dave?’” Rose said. “When you’re alone in that airplane and it’s just you flying, you’re having fun, but you’re also being safe.” 

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For Rose, it took about a year and a half to get through the lessons and pass her Check-ride – essentially the pilot’s license equivalent of a driver's exam. It was a long time coming, considering she first put her hands on the yoke when she was 13 years old.

“I remember at a very young age just always being attracted to the sky,” Rose said. “My parents knew I was born to be a pilot after I would not stop talking about it. I got something called a flying bug where I was addicted to flying and knowing every single thing about every type of airplane.”

She recalls as a youngster driving her father’s boat with her father  and telling him, “how cool would this be if I was at 4,000 feet.” Her dream was solidified when her parents sent her to an aviation summer camp in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, as a teen. 

“The sky is my home,” Rose said. “I’m just so comfortable in the sky and it feels right to me … I just absolutely love it.”   

Getting her pilot’s license was the core of her Perkins High School Academy Experience – a program that enables students to test out career interests with internships and special programs. Rose completed her training at Griffing Flight Service in Port Clinton. 

A secondary component of her Academy Experience was acquiring her commercial drone license, which she received over the summer. Through that training, she also learned about starting and running a small business. 

She considers drone-flying her side hustle, fulfilling a demand for drone pilots in a burgeoning industry for aerial photography, package deliveries, and so much more.

“I know I can open a (drone) business and probably make a lot of money,” Rose said.

Meantime, though, she has her sights set on college. She has been accepted to the University of North Dakota and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is leaning toward attending UND.

“Rose is definitely going to be succeed in the future with her drive and desire,” said Mr. Lapp, her instructor. “It’s definitely what you need to become a pilot.” 

Rose’s tentative plan is complete her degree and then consider becoming an airline pilot or  the military as a pilot – she cannot let go of the B-52 dream. 

“I’m so lucky – I won’t have a regular office. When I’m an airline pilot, my office is going to be a cockpit,” Rose said. “I’m going to be at 30,000 feet. I’m not going to be working 9 to 5. It’s going to be so cool and I’m so excited for my life.”

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