Rae Banks

I’ve flown for the Air Force for the past 12 years and will be separating from active duty soon to pursue a career with the airlines. I’ve flown the C-17 (cargo), RQ-4 (remotely piloted aircraft) and KC-135 (refueler).

I was born and raised in Guam and earned my B.S. in Aeronautics and Applied Mathematics from Dowling College. I’ve been married for almost 4 years and live in North Carolina with my husband and two cats. Because of our careers, my husband and I lived on opposite coasts the entire time we dated and for the first two years of our marriage. Thank God for FaceTime and iMessage! It helped us feel close through the distance.

I love old homes (my home turned 104 this year) and classic designs, tea, cooking and blogging.

What got you interested in aviation?

My dad. He works for the FAA and encouraged me to pursue a degree in engineering, which I did for the first 2.5 years of college. After getting into the meat of the engineering courses, I quickly found out that I hated sitting in a lab and writing technical reports. I transferred to an aviation school and had friends in the flight program. A friend took me as a passenger on one of his flying lessons and I was hooked!

How did you get started flying?

I just googled flight schools around me and booked the cheapest discovery flight. I took 6 flight lessons before deciding to apply to the Air Force as a pilot. Flight hours (even just 6) increases your PCSM (Pilot Candidate Selection Method) score, which increases your chance of getting selected for a pilot slot. I’m not gonna lie, it was expensive to get those 6 flights, but I think it’s important to try flying before you commit to giving 11-12 years of your life to being a pilot, which is what you’ll owe the Air Force if they send you to pilot training.

What was your first flight like?

My first flight was in an OLD Cessna 152. I couldn’t understand what the instructor was saying because the plane was so loud and because the headset he gave me wasn’t very good. I decided not to return to that flight school. My second flight was much better. It was in a new DA-20 and was a blast. I got to learn how to trim and do a few basic maneuvers. I’d recommend choosing a flight school based on their planes and quality of instruction instead of price. It’s worth paying extra to get quality training.

What’s your typical day like?

In the air force, I do office work more than I fly. It’s the nature of progressing through the ranks. On the days I do fly, we start out with flight planning which involves checking the weather, NOTAMS, Flight Crew Information Files, pub currencies and flight plans, along with talking to the crew about what they want to get out of the flight. Then, we’ll brief either as a single ship crew or as a formation. Next, we step to the jet, check the maintenance forms for the jet, do the pre-flight and go flying! A typical flight involves refueling training with other aircraft followed by approach and landing practice. After we land, we do the post-flight walkaround, debrief maintenance on any issues we encountered, fill out our paperwork (we have to track our currency items) and debrief.

What do you like most about flying?

I like the view. Especially when we get to fly near the coast or during sunset or sunrise. There’s nothing like it. I’m afraid of heights, but when I fly, that doesn’t seem to matter.

What’s the most challenging part of flying?

When learning to fly, the most difficult part for me was learning how to land. Landing is all about the sight picture and hand-eye-foot coordination. I’m a very analytical person, so getting away from analytics and the traditional way of learning (studying and memorization) was very new to me. I didn’t play any sports or video games growing up, so learning how to do something that involved hand-eye coordination and visualization took a lot of time and effort.

What’s the most challenging part of your job?

For me, it’s the lifestyle. Jet lag, eating right on the road, finding time to work out and being away from home are all issues we deal with as pilots. I think it’s worth it though. I understand that this lifestyle isn’t for everyone, but if you’re independent, like adventure and enjoy a challenge, this can be a great career choice.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to pursue a career in aviation?

Don’t let the cost of flight school deter you from pursuing this career. It’s an investment, just like paying for medical or law school. Yes, it is a risk, but it’s a calculated risk. 42% of pilots will be forced to retire in the next 10 years, so this a great time to get into aviation. The risk of not being able to find a job is low because of those retirements.

Back in 2005, when I graduated from college, I wouldn’t have given the same advice. No one was hiring pilots, and people who were lucky enough to find a job were paid less than $20,000 per year.

Aviation is still a volatile business, so I encourage everyone going into this field to be financially prepared for hard times. As long as you’re prepared, you can mitigate this risk. Don’t let fear stop you!