Something a bit uncommon in the Wood River Valley is women in aviation. However, we do have one prominent female pilot, Christina Tindle, who runs a wonderful flight program—Women Wise AWEsome Adventures—especially for women.
Twenty-five years ago, Christina (who’s originally from Steamboat Springs, Colorado) was awarded an internship in Wyoming that essentially became a full-time job. Although she loved her life in Steamboat and wasn’t too excited about moving to Wyoming, the situation resulted in an opportunity for her to take flying lessons and become a private pilot. Getting her pilot’s license solved a problem—flying saves time and allows her to live the life she loves while still getting her work done.
When we met with Christina, she told us how much she loves flying and how it has allowed her to connect with her passion, which she first experienced when her wheels came up during her first flying lesson. Since completing her training and becoming a licensed pilot, Christina has become an advocate for women in aviation and firmly believes that all women should focus on bringing their personal passion to life. Flying airplanes, dirt biking, or biking across the country… no matter what it is, find what makes you passionate and run with it!
Fast forward several years, Christina relocated to the Wood River Valley on June 25, 2012 She fell in love with the area on her first visit, especially because of the number of backcountry airstrips within a short flight of the Valley. She also enjoys alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, and hiking, but most importantly she loves being in the outdoors—either with or without her plane (preferably with).
Christina started her Women Wise AWEsome Adventures event 11 years ago with the goal of empowering women and building their confidence as female pilots. The four-day “flight camp” includes flight training, speakers, yoga, a paint-your-plane activity, massages and team-building activities. For the flight-training portion, participants are matched with instructors according their goals, learning methods, and personality, which helps to build students’ confidence and optimize their flying skills.
Christina has done a fantastic job creating a flying event for women that leaves them feeling empowered and confident, surrounded by new friends, and knowing they’re rockin’ in the pilot seat. As Christina noted, “Adventure learning is a powerful tool, and you become who you are through your adventures.” We couldn’t agree more; if you take a second to think about your best memories and growing experiences, they’ve been through your adventures, right?
When we asked Christina about her favorite part of flying, she told us that she loves the freedom and empowerment of having her own wings. Her favorite thing to do in the summer is pack a breakfast and hop into her plane at sunrise, head to a backcountry airstrip where she’ll have breakfast, and hike around a bit. She’ll usually get back to her office around 11 a.m. to start work. We have to say we’re a little jealous—who wouldn’t want to start their day in the wilderness?
For more information on Christina’s event, click here or visit her website: http://www.christinatindle.com/flying.html.
Cheers to all those female pilots out there!
