My fascination for aviation has been with me for as long as I can remember. Already as a 3- year-old, I would look up at the sky whenever an airplane flew over my head. With my family spread across the vast distances of Norway, I got used to air travel and the aviation bug only grew stronger within me.
Determined to be a pilot, I involved myself in aviation in as many ways as I could think of. From a young age, I was heavily invested in Microsoft Flight Simulator. I flew a little RC plane around at the local airfield and I watched all the TV-shows there were about aviation. At 18, I got my first job as a ramp agent with regional airline Widerøe, the start of my professional career. Then a few years later, I got accepted as one of twelve candidates at the University of Tromsø School of Aviation.
My time at the University was some of the best times of my life so far. The flight school was located north of the arctic circle, surrounded by spectacular mountains and fjords, which made every training flight an amazing experience. And to share this with my classmates who were just as passionate as me about achieving their dream was all that I could wish for. During my 3 years at flight school, I had plenty of amazing and scenic flights, but I also had to face a lot of challenges – particularly when it came to the weather. The weather in Northern Norway is unpredictable and can change in the blink of an eye, particularly in the winter, something that we always had to keep in mind when planning for a flight. Even though the weather delayed our training several times, I think that ultimately it only made me a better pilot.
When I think about why I chose to become a pilot, it’s difficult to give a clear answer, but I think a lot of it can be attributed to the adventure of flying to new places and seeing the world. Of course I also love the freedom of being able to soar through the sky and go wherever I want when I fly around in a small propeller plane, but after being 1.5 years in my current job as a private jet pilot, I know that I’ve found a job and a lifestyle that I can live with for a long time. Almost every week I get to see new places and every flight is a new adventure. And to think – the adventure has just begun!
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