If Women were meant to fly, the sky would be pink..!!

In this episode, more encounters and emergencies as I near Senior First officer promotion. I get the opportunity to join a ferry crew bringing our HS125 back from the UK, and I am faced with a terrified student at the Lagos Flying Club.

She’s a mum, artist and jack of all trades. When she’s not working, she likes to spend time with her daughter in their mini zoo and sketch when she gets the chance.

Faye has three passions in life, nature, anything prehistoric and Tina Turner. Her art reflects her enthusiasm for these subjects and when she’s not working on pet commissions, she likes to create her own style of colour pencil artwork and the occasional watercolour or ceramic piece.

Faye was diagnosed at 34 with autism (Asperger’s) and the late diagnosis has transformed her life.

 She grew up feeling like she was an alien, she never fit into the norm or to those around her, but she now understands that she’s simply from another planet!

As an advocate for young girls with autism, she feels that too many slip under the radar or are misdiagnosed and therefore do not get the support they require.

Faye’s new moto and one she tries to live by is ‘BE YOUR trueSELF’

In this episode, training continues at the Lagos Flying Club, and I fall out with some private members who know better than I do, when it comes to training pilots, even though they have no instructor qualifications. My secondment comes to an end, and I elect to return to Bristow’s even though I am offered a permanent job with Mobil Oil and I address the peer pressure which is resulting in stressful situations off duty.
 
 

In this episode, The Lagos Flying Club takes shape and I take on students at the weekends, more interesting tales from my secondment as I travel to Canada for my Twin Otter simulator training, and I learn valuable lessons on what not to do as a pilot.

In this episode my I take the opportunity to use my flight instructors' license at the resurrected Lagos Flying Club.

Seniority brings its perks and I finally have a social life!! Who would have thought?

In this episode my flight time increases substantially on my way to becoming a Senior First Officer, I am seconded to another company as a co-pilot for 6 months and some colleagues pay a heavy price as Aviation grows quickly in Nigeria.

I would like to dedicate this one-off special episode to an amazing Pilot and Human Being, Captain Christopher John Puddy.

In this episode, as I continue to build my flight hours for promotion to Senior First Officer, I decide to take on my detractors, I meet many different characters on board some of my flights, more interesting weather comes my way, and I find that I cannot emulate all the aspects of a behind the scenes commercial pilot.

For this episode and in celebration of PRIDE, I would like to share my experiences as a black, gay woman who just so happens to be a Pilot.

In this episode, my schedule gets busy as I build my flight hours for promotion to First Officer. I meet many different characters onboard and I meet my match in the rainy season with some spectacular flights, emergencies, and weather.

In this episode I start work as a second officer at Bristow Helicopters in Lagos on the DHC-6 Twin Otter, twin engine turboprop. I realise pretty quickly that having a woman up front at the sharp pointy end is a novel idea to most people at that time, and I develop a strategy to deal with the distrust and suspicion of having a woman pilot in a position of authority at 7000ft and above.

Hello and welcome to the 8th episode of If women were meant to fly, the sky would be pink, - Coming Back Down to Earth.

I am Enid Otun.

I am mixing in a little childhood memory with the continuation of the next stage of my flying career. I return from the US albeit reluctantly to Lagos, to take up an offer a first officer position with a new airline start-up, looking forward to a DC-8 experience. I left behind a life I had grown into along with friendships I had never had before, to make good my career. 

I am deviating slightly from my flying career this episode, and giving you a glimpse into my Lagos childhood. In many ways this snippet of my young life may give you an insight into me as a person and what shaped me in my later years. Everyone’s experiences are different and that is what makes us, us.

This episode I will be giving you some insight into my new flying assignments, I welcome my mum to San Francisco on her first ever trip to the USA, and I embark on my new journey as a Flight Instructor and my first officially assigned student.

This episode I will be facing down the temptation to fly under the famous Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, something few people have done successfully, but it is always a temptation. I turn down offers of money for dodgy flights, fly to Las Vegas for the weekend, and as my mental health journey continues, I venture to Los Angeles with friends to explore my independence.

This episode I am carrying out my long cross country flight to Palm Springs. I realise that I need additional help with my instrument rating theory, as well as my mental health, and I also receive my first flying assignment as a qualified commercial pilot.

Hello and welcome to the third episode of If Women were meant to fly, the sky would be pink:
REALITY SETS IN.

This episode I will pick up from the taster and introduce you to the next phase of my training, my struggles with childhood trauma, and my deeper involvement in San Francisco life.

A TASTER bite for Ep 3, Reality Sets In

Hello and welcome to the second episode of If Women were meant to fly, the sky would be pink:SAN FRANCISCO BECKONS.

This episode I will be expanding on the individuals who were instrumental in starting me on my path to becoming a Professional Pilot in the USA as I begin my commercial training.  

Hello and welcome to the first podcast episode of If Women were meant to fly, the sky would be pink.
THE BEGINNING.
I am Enid Otun.
This episode I will be introducing you to the start of my aviation career as a woman in the 80's and 90's. How it all started, why it all started and how it shaped me as a future commercial pilot.