Wendi Sparks is an accomplished pilot who is sitting down to talk about what helped shape her into the incredible woman she is today.

As a child, Wendi was lucky enough to be taken up in an airplane and even at that young age, she knew this is where she belonged. She had several women in her life that she was able to look up to as role models and as she grew up, she found more and more women who impacted her by introducing her to what was possible. A mentor of hers once sat Wendi on her lap and showed her what all the different controls do and from then on, she had found her calling. 

Though it seems like the number of women hasn’t increased, every new class of pilots brings in more capable women pilots. 

In a traditionally male-dominated field (only 4.4% of pilots are women), Wendi believes that more and more women are starting to fly. Though it seems like the number of women hasn’t increased, every new class of pilots brings in more capable women pilots. 

Being a pilot is a job where you are constantly learning! 

Wendi and Heather also discuss what sort of skill set and what qualities pilots need to be successful. If you get a group of pilots together you’ll find they are very methodical and goal-oriented. They’re trained to know how to remain calm in an emergency situation and while many things can be taught, there is an innate drive that gets pilots through the academy. Being a pilot is a job where you are constantly learning! 

Wendi also shares her experience working with Gulf Stream and how it helped form her and her daughter in similar ways. She discusses what she did, how she did it, and the impact it had on her and her family.  Among other topics, Wendi and Heather dig into the implications of COVID-19 while working in the commercial flight industry and being a mother. 

OTHER TOP QUOTES FROM THIS EPISODE

• “I know, no matter how hard it is, at the end of the day, I love what I’m doing.”