Reflections Magazine Issue #68 - Fall 2008 | Page 13

Feature Article

By Doug Goodnough

Sun

Female Pilot Discovers Her Passion for Flying

W

hat do art and airplanes have in common?
Holly Czupich is still trying to figure that out.
When Czupich graduated in 2005 from Siena
Heights University with a Bachelor of Fine
Arts degree in art history and photography, she
thought her future would be sifting through
documents as a library archivist.
In the meantime, she was working for a temporary agency at USA Jet Airlines near Ypsilanti,
Mich. That’s where she “caught the bug”as she
refers to her love of flying. Less than two years
after her first takeoff, the resident of Milan,
Mich., is just a few hours from earning her
commercial pilot’s license.
“I never dreamed of flying myself,”said Czupich,
who did not view herself as the risk-taking type.
“A few people at work told me I should start
flying. I said, ‘You don’t know me. I can’t do
that.’... It’s like a disease, and I caught it.”

Ironically, it was art that led her to the runway.
A co-worker asked if she would use her artistic
ability on a project. In return, he would give her
free flying lessons. That’s all it took.
Starting in December 2006, Czupich juggled
work and graduate school enough to fit in her
newfound passion. Overcoming the customary motion sickness and a self-admitted lack of mechanical know-how, Czupich successfully completed
ground school, which taught her aspects of flying
like aerodynamics, signage and fuel conservation.
“I didn’t know the first thing about an engine,”
said Czupich, who now can change her own oil
and wants to be a flight instructor one day. “I
went to art school, for goodness sake.”
She earned her private pilot’s license in September 2007, and currently has approximately 220
hours of the 250 needed to earn a commercial
license.
Now a full-time employee with USA Jet as an
assistant to the company’s executive vice president,
she said working in the aviation business fuels
her passion. In fact, she recently flew solo from
Michigan to Albuquerque, N.M., in a singleengine, four-seat airplane. That’s 15 hours in
the air – one way.

“You don’t zone out,”Czupich said of her inthe-air experience. “But the time goes by so fast.
You are focused on the aircraft.”
She said the toughest part about learning to
fly was landing. In fact, she said 80 percent of
aviation accidents occur attempting to land.
Another challenge at times is her gender. With
just 6 percent of all pilots being female (including
just 2 percent who are commercial rated), Czupich
said she is often aware of the quizzical looks and
stares when she gets out of the cockpit.
“Especially being a tall blonde,”she said.
To help encourage more female fliers, Czupich
helped organize an Ann Arbor chapter of Women
in Aviation International, which recently met for
the first time.
“We get together and try to support each other,”
Czupich said of the initial 17-member group.
“There’s still some people out there who think
women shouldn’t fly.”
What about the connection between art and
aviation? She said her BFA coursework at Siena
challenged her to move out of her comfort zone.
And she is considering doing some aerial photography, which would allow her to combine her
two passions. Her ultimate goals include flying
either commercially or for the government, as
well as being a flight instructor.
“It’s amazing to fly where the birds go every day,”
Czupich said. “I get to see the sun. The sun’s up
there somewhere. You just got to go find it.” u

Reflections Fall ’08

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