Scholarship Essay
I am Nora Feddal, born in 1963 in France, where I also grew up. I earned a license in flying in a small town in the north of France, at Marc-enBaroeul, LFQO, on a sub-standard runway without a tower. The plane that I used for the training was a French “Pierre Robin”, a light aircraft with a low wing, mostly used in light sport, rather than more sophisticated uses such as ferrying passengers. The training was a challenging experience because apart from the lack of a more sophisticated airplane in training, I learned to use the radio for communications in French and without a headset, with only a microphone. In 1997, I moved to West Hollywood, California having just earned the new private license in Flying.
Having worked with French people all this time and in my training, I was extremely nervous and anxious in the foreign environment, especially because my English was poor and communication was difficult. However, I adjusted gradually and decided to take up a ground school course at SMC after introduction to the club by the CFI, who was a member of the Air-Spacers Flying Club in Santa Monica. I joined the club in 2005 and started sharing four Cessna aircrafts with 61 other members, among them the father of an astronaut. I then joined Los Angeles’ Palm Chapter of the Ninety-Nines that same year and, 3 years later, the EAA. I participate in the EAA’s sponsored program, Young Eagles, which aims to provide children aged between 8 and 17 the opportunity to experience flight in a general aviation aircraft, as a way of inspiring them in life and encouraging them to probably take up jobs in aviation, such as in maintenance, as pilots or air traffic controllers, and other possibilities. I had my best moment in this program when a child I had taken on such an experience asked if we could do it again, inspiring my confidence. I have also participated twice in “Challenge Air for Kids and Friends” which provides motivational experiences through aviation for special needs children and youth, inspiring in them the idea that physical limitations cannot prevent their realization of full potential.
These accomplishments and experiences have been vital in enhancing my participation in the programs of the Ninety-Nines, whose objective is to promote women pilots’ advancement in aviation through mutual support, offering scholarships, and education, while sharing fun and passion for flight. In aviation, my objective is to continue service as a pilot and extend my proficiency and skills to flying multi-engine aircraft in more difficult environments, such as through clouds higher up in the sky. This would enhance my pilot skills and influence greater capacity for safety and higher quality in my services as a pilot. I want to continue participating in partnership programs with the Ninety-Nines and other aviation organizations to motivate children, especially special needs students, in their lives through aviation, with the possibility of a greater role in the organization’s future as a leader to contribute to further advancement of aviation. In this context, IFR and multi-engine ratings shall provide the skills and qualifications that I require to become a better and safer pilot, especially considering the experience in instrument flight rules and vigorous training to enhance multi-engine privileges and pilot-in-command credentials that the ratings involve.
My award of this scholarship shall benefit the Ninety-Nines and the Aviation community because I shall train diligently and committedly to obtain proficiency in flying and contribute actively towards improvement in the quality of services and future of the organization and aviation. I shall acquire better decision-making capacities, broader aviation experience, and clearer ideas about necessary improvements in aviation and the Ninety-Nines, and hence develop as a pilot and potential leader for the future both within the organization and in its charitable courses.