By 2nd Lt. Cris Coniglio –
United Airline pilot, Captain Pam Perdue was the highly anticipated virtual guest speaker for the Lake County Composite Squadron’s cadets this month. Captain Perdue is a pilot for United Airlines and is a member of Women in Aviation Central Florida Chapter. Captain Perdue described her journey to the cadets of how she become an airline pilot, including the schooling and training path that she took. She said, “There are several paths to aviation both civilian and military.” Captain Perdue attended a Florida flight school for training and then returned to Texas to instruct in small aircraft. She flew light twin aircrafts and turboprops across Texas and worked her way up to flying commercial aircraft.
Captain Perdue described the day in the life of a commercial airline pilot and shared stories about the various locations she flew aircraft to around the world. She showed the cadets several “flat Stanley” photos she had taken around the word for her niece which gave the cadets a snapshot of the exciting destinations to which a commercial pilot may fly. Captain Perdue said, “The most satisfying part of my job is the variety of destinations and the fact that every day is different.”
The cadets were intrigued to find out that during Captain Perdue’s long flights across the ocean, the crew consisted of several pilots allowing the pilots to rotate sleep breaks. The sleep breaks were taken in an upper sleeping cabin in the large commercial jets.
Captain Perdue’s presentation further enhanced the cadets’ knowledge of the life of a commercial airline pilot and the methods to obtain the experience, skills, and education to enter into this career path.
As part of Civil Air Patrol’s Cadet Program, cadets have the opportunity to take part in up to ten orientation flights, where cadets are flown in CAP single-engine aircraft to provide hands-on flight familiarization. In addition to the Orientation Flight Program, CAP offers the opportunity to apply for a variety of flight training scholarships and flight training academies which are primarily held during the summer months.
As most social groups and organizations have moved to virtual meetings due to COVID 19, Civil Air Patrol is no different. As the Lake County Composite Squadron turned their weekly meetings to a virtual platform, it opened the opportunity to invite guest speakers, such as Captain Perdue, who would otherwise not be able to attend in-person to a normal face-to-face meeting.
Civil Air Patrol’s Lake Composite Squadron normally meets every Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. at the Leesburg International Airport. For the next few weeks, the squadron will continue to meet virtually at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesdays. Visitors and prospective members are welcome to join the squadron for virtual meetings, as new members, both cadet and adult, are able to join in spite of the current COVID stand down.
For more information regarding meetings or membership, please call (860) 605-0738.
