Spring Hill College Student Caroline Cusick flies through sophomore year, literally!
Cusick started taking flight lessons in October at the Downtown Mobile Airport. Her interest in aviation sparked from growing up in a military family. “My dad was a flight surgeon for the navy. He flew in several different types of aircrafts,” Cusick said. She tries to meet with her trainer twice a week after school. They spend about two hours learning preparation skills, flight skills, and landing skills each session.
Cusick is trained to fly over Mobile and has received her solo license. When Cusick fractured her wrist from playing Rugby at Spring Hill, the injury delayed her flight lessons, for she was not able to operate the aircraft. Once her wrist was healed, she drove straight to the airport and continued her lessons to continue her progress. Cusick hopes to fly commercial planes one day for Delta Airlines. “I knew I wanted to be a pilot when I saw the news of the "Miracle on the Hudson" when an airliner went down because of an engine failure in New York,” Cusick said. However, she chose a safer path when she went into college as a nursing major. Cusick, unhappy with her major, decided to switch majors to business to have a broader field of career options. Still, she is uninterested in being a business major. Cusick plans to follow her passion of flying into a career.
“After spending the summer at the NASA Space Camp teaching children about aviation, I decided to take the risk and begin flight lessons,” said Cusick. It takes a lot of studying and preparation before the real flying begins. She spent many hours reading and taking tests on her knowledge about the physics of aviation. Now she is able to fly on her own. Although the training comes naturally to Cusick, one of her practices did intimidate her. “We were practicing a stall called a cross control stall and happens when there's not enough airflow over your wings and through your engine and your ailerons are going one way and your rudder is going the other,” said Cusick. This can allow the plane the do a spin. This frightened Cusick, as she was nervous for the aircraft to flip upside down. Cusick did not realize she had to practice this stall to accomplish her solo license.
“Being able to control a plane and where you want to go is one of the best feelings,” said Cusick. She feels a sense of freedom in the air, which is relaxing. When she has a lot on her mind she can get in the plane and only think about the techniques and maneuvers to operate the aircraft. It is hard to think about anything when there are many elements to keep the plane in the air and have a safe flight. “Hearing the people over the headset back at the airport giving air traffic reports, weather reports, and which runway to land on is extremely important, so I have to pay attention to what they are saying,” Cusick said. There is a different language to speak when flying an aircraft. Everything is in code like the military, so a pilot would have to understand and be able to communicate in that fashion.
Cusick’s goal is to get her private pilot’s license. With this license she can reach her desires of working for an airline. Being a pilot requires a bachelor’s degree which is why Cusick is intent on graduating Spring Hill in business. After she gets her private pilot’s license, she will continue earning other certificates and ratings such as a commercial license and an instrument rating. Upon completion of enough hours of flying experience, she hopes to get a job in a regional or major airline.
Conquering her fears, Cusick took the leap in 2016 and has been flying ever since. She is also a member of the Delta Gamma fraternity on campus. Between classes, flight training, and participating in a sorority, Cusick always finds herself busy. Her father is her inspiration for flying, as he told her many stories about his own experiences. She never knew the exposure of aviation in her childhood would evolve into a lifetime career choice.