Page 56 - World Airnews Magazine January 2020 Edition

WOMEN IN
AVIATION

KING OF THE AIR

Currently flying charters on BE 200s, Dominique
Lenzen is a rising star in aviation. Our World

Airnews correspondent Mike Wright caught up
with her

eet 26-year-old King Air pilot
MDominique Lenzen.
Although today she dreams of flying for

a large, international, commercial airline,
young Dominique didn’t always have her
hopes set on aviation as her career choice.

“I’m not one of those pilots who knew
they wanted to fly since they could walk.

But I do remember staring up at the sky
when I was playing hockey at high school
and looking up at the planes and wondering
where they had been and where they were
going.”
She went to school at Danville Park Girls
High School which is right next to the
Virginia airport so you can imagine during
lessons she was always the one looking
out the window when a Citation or King Air

took off.
In her last year at high school Dominique

said she was still uncertain as to what she
wanted to do, but what she did know was
- she didn’t want to sit in an office all day

behind a computer.
One night while having dinner with her
parents, Dominique’s mom suggested may-
be she should be a pilot.

“I gave it some thought and, after listen-
ing to Bruce Daniels talk about becoming
a pilot at my schools career evening, I was
sold!”
Dominique managed to get her commer-
cial pilot’s licence in just 18 months, with Nelspruit and back in a C206.
instrument rating and multi-engine rating more females in the industry – especially On the way back they noticed quite a

as well as a grade three flight instructor. instructors.” low oil pressure but they thought it was
In 2012 she passed her Airline Transport Dominique’s advice to aspiring pilots is possibly because we had been in a constant
Pilot License exams and then became an never to let anyone tell you that you can’t descent. They also checked the pitch to

instructor at Ayre, a flight school which do it - especially if you are a woman. confirm they had oil.

was based at Virginia Airport. She said “If you think flying is something you When they were abeam King Shaka the
that there is no better feeling than when want to pursue you need to be willing to engine started surging and gave them

students pass an exam because you have put in a lot of hard work and be willing to the fright of their lives and they instant-
helped them or when they are doing an air learn. They say you never stop learning ly turned to King Shaka. They were on
exercise that you have taught them and in this industry and nothing comes easy finals and everything seemed fine so they

they get it right. so you really need to have the passion for thought lets go to Virginia. As they changed
“Seeing the happiness on their faces and fl ying.” frequency to Virginia the engine started

knowing you have passed on your knowl- Asked what her best flight has been to surging again. Luckily runway 23 was in
edge to them really makes all the hard work date, Dominique said it was when she took use and they were close and landed safely.

and effort worth it.” her dad flying for the first time, and “I was Once the two pilots got out they saw all

Working in an industry that is quite really excited to finally take my dad flying. the oil had leaked from a hole in the crank

strongly dominated by males, Dominique After we landed my dad gave me a hug and case. It was quite a scary experience and
said she hopes to give the aviation industry told me how proud he was of me.” they were very lucky that nothing else

a little more female representation. And commenting on experience that our happened.

“There is never a dull moment around readers could learn from she said she was What she took from the experience is

a group of males, but we really do need doing a flight with another instructor up to that if you ever suspect something is wrong
World Airnews | January 2020
— 54 —