Her Story
About Brandi
I've spent 25 years in aviation in various capacities. I started as a flight attendant with American Airlines, thinking it would help me pay my way through flight school, though that didn't work out as planned. I spent several years doing corporate charter flight attendant work combined with personal chef services, which I continued off and on for about 10 years while raising my three children. When COVID hit, I felt like my personal chef business just wasn't sparking my joy anymore. My husband encouraged me to go back to piloting, and even though I thought I was too old, he convinced me otherwise. I decided to pursue helicopters, and four years ago I put my nose to the grindstone. I completed my private pilot training in 2023 and commercial in 2024, doing most of my training in Kentucky. Now I work independently as a fire and utility helicopter pilot, flying the Black Hawk on wildfire suppression missions on a contract basis. I go out on two-week rotations, get shipped to wherever the fire is, and work with a crew of five managing the aircraft and fighting fires with 600 or 900 gallon buckets. I'm also involved with Civil Air Patrol and working toward my fixed-wing certificate through them, though helicopters are truly my passion. I tell my kids it's like jeeping in the sky, and there's just nothing else like it.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Brandi
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to my faith and the support of my family. I could not do this at all without their support - my husband and my three kids. I have this insane positivity, kind of like Pollyanna, and the same thing I preach to my kids and when I talk to other kids in schools is just to believe in yourself and be bold. Don't let anyone tell you that your journey has to look like theirs. I just have faith that my dreams, big or small or wild or crazy, they might sound that way to others, but I just believe. I just have this crazy belief and faith, and then my family supports it.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Recently, my mentor told me something that really shook me. She said, 'Brandi, it's time for you to level up. You don't realize that you are no longer being held together by inspirational tape. It's time for you to level up and realize who you are and what you can offer to this community.' I think as women, and anyone really, you kind of get stuck thinking that you're not good enough, you've still got so much to do and so much to learn. It takes someone kind of putting a mirror in front of you and standing in front of you and saying, hey, listen, look at this, look how far you've come. And it's time for you to see how far you've come, and what you've done, and what you're capable of moving forward. That really helped me cross over that threshold and keep moving, climb a little bit higher, and keep doing more.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I'm not afraid to ask, I'm not afraid to be told no, and I'm not afraid of hard work. Just be kind to everyone you meet along the way, because you just never know who's gonna come back around. Especially in the helicopter industry, in aviation, it's actually a very, very small community, so you have to be kind to people and treat people with goodness. As an older woman when I started flying at 48, I wasn't afraid to ask the questions like, hey, let me fly, hey, will you give me an opportunity? And I will scrub your helicopters, I'll sweep your floors, I'll take out the trash, I'll do whatever it takes. I'm not afraid of hard work, but I'm also not afraid to ask. I'm not afraid to reach out to the big names or ask the bold questions, respectfully. You have to be willing to put yourself out there.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge is being taken seriously. I love flying the Black Hawk, I love wrenching on it, I love learning all about the systems and every aspect of that aircraft. And as a pilot, as a female, there's just not that many of us, so it's sometimes tough to be taken seriously. It's a really male-dominant field, and unfortunately, there aren't many women in the field, so that can be a challenge.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Loyalty and trustworthiness are most important to me. If you can trust someone in a company, and they're loyal to you and you're loyal to them, along with your faith and your family, all the other things just kind of fall into place - the responsibility, safety, approachability, being genuine, and generosity. All of those things kind of fall into that. If someone is just good and kind and trustworthy and loyal, everything else follows.
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