{"id":15401,"date":"2023-08-14T21:22:43","date_gmt":"2023-08-14T21:22:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/isa21.org\/?page_id=15401"},"modified":"2023-08-23T14:07:44","modified_gmt":"2023-08-23T14:07:44","slug":"colleen-finnell","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/isa21.org\/colleen-finnell\/","title":{"rendered":"Colleen Finnell"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
August Airline:<\/strong>\u00a0Frontier Airlines<\/span> Colleen: \u00a0<\/p> What airplanes have you flown during your career?<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/div> Colleen: How did you get interested in aviation?<\/strong><\/span><\/p> Colleen: Have you had any mentors throughout the years?<\/strong> Colleen:<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p> Colleen: What has been your favorite things about being an airline pilot?<\/strong><\/p> Colleen<\/span><\/span>: What has been your favorite flight or aviation memory?<\/strong><\/p> Colleen<\/span><\/span>: My favorite aviation memory was participating as a CFI in the Able Flight\u00a0program during my time at Purdue University and meeting Sheila Xu. The\u00a0program was developed to help people with disabilities get their sport pilots\u00a0license. Sheila is deaf and wears a cochlear implant. We developed ways of\u00a0communicating while flying through hand signals, short phrases, lip reading\u00a0and shorthand written notes to help Sheila succeed. In just 6 weeks she went\u00a0from \u201czero to hero\u201d and passed her sports pilot checkride! Expanding my\u00a0teaching skills and helping Sheila to achieve her goal was definitely the coolest\u00a0thing I’ve done! We are still very good friends and together we enjoy\u00a0celebrating each other\u2019s newest adventures.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
2023<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\tColleen Finnell<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
Crew Position:<\/strong>\u00a0First Officer
<\/span>Aircraft:<\/strong>\u00a0A320\/A321
<\/span>Domicile:<\/strong> PHL<\/span><\/p>
Where did you do your flight training?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>
<\/em><\/span>I completed my flight training at Purdue University as a professional flight\u00a0major. I participated in a 141 program and then obtained my CFI at the FBO\u00a0on the field.<\/span><\/p>
<\/i><\/span>I have flown Cirrus SR20, Cessna 172\/152, Piper Archer\/ Warrior\/ Arrow\/ Seminole,\u00a0RV-12, Pipistrel Sinus, Phenom 100, and Airbus A320\/321.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
<\/em><\/span>My passion for aviation began at a young age. I grew up in an airline family,\u00a0visited local flightlines, attended airshows, took discovery flights and spent\u00a0many hours flying in a Piper Cherokee. As the youngest of four, I was not shy in\u00a0begging my older siblings to sit in the back so I could get the perfect view\u00a0from the front right seat. Some of my most treasured memories and favorite\u00a0views are from flying up and down the seacoast of New England. As an airline\u00a0family, I also grew up flying standby and I loved the freedom and spontaneity\u00a0of traveling. Other standby families may relate to the creative spontaneity of\u00a0going from Boston to Tampa by connecting through Puerto Rico because the\u00a0flights are open!<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
<\/span><\/p>
<\/em><\/span>My current aviation goal is to continue growing into an experienced,\u00a0confident, and well rounded First Officer at Frontier Airlines. I also hope to\u00a0continue mentoring and encouraging the next generation of aspiring female\u00a0aviators through my own journey, contributing to greater gender diversity in\u00a0the airline aviation career field. I enjoy sharing my successes as well as my\u00a0failures with anyone who is interested in aviation. For me personally, stories of\u00a0overcoming failures are more motivating than stories of easy successes.<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
<\/em>I highly recommend visiting your local airport and taking a discovery flight to\u00a0see if flying is something you really want to pursue. As a flight instructor, I had the exciting\u00a0opportunity to take a future female pilot on a discovery flight and it was a\u00a0privilege to help start her aviation career. Also, I would encourage talking to\u00a0every pilot you meet and asking them how they got started. The journey\u00a0might be challenging at times, but finding a mentor to help celebrate your\u00a0milestones and overcome the obstacles makes all the difference. Most\u00a0importantly, do not let the price of flying discourage you! There are many\u00a0scholarships available through women aviation organizations especially\u00a0<\/span>ISA+21.<\/span><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
<\/em>Being an airline pilot allows me to travel to places I would have never thought\u00a0to go to before! Some layover cities are more stylish than others, but having\u00a0the ability to be in multiple vibrant cities all in one day is the coolest perk of\u00a0the job! It\u2019s fun to shock my friends by saying I woke up in Philadelphia, had\u00a0lunch in Fort Lauderdale and dinner in Denver!<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
<\/em><\/p>