- November 28, 2024
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When Esther Cranga was a kid, she wanted to be a fighter pilot.
After reading thrilling stories from authors like Tom Clancy, she dreamed of being in control of an aircraft — something her mother didn't find as thrilling. Due to that and her academic abilities, her dream had to be put on hold.
"I was really good at school, so everyone pushed me to follow my studies," she said. "I thought that being a fighter pilot was not for me, even though I kept telling my mom 'You'll see one day I'll be a pilot.'"
Cranga got her first taste of what it was like to be in a helicopter when she worked as an interpreter in Italy.
"I was in the back of the helicopter training and interpreting for emergencies," she said. "As soon as I sat in the back of the
aircraft, I was like 'It's gotta be helicopters.'"
For most people, the love for helicopters comes from watching movies like "Top Gun," and but Cranga was more interested in what it took to be a pilot of that kind of aircraft.
"It was not just being in the sky and all that," she said. "It was the skill of piloting."
And because a helicopter is not built to glide like an airplane, it takes more skill to control. Helicopter pilots have to manage three controls simultaneously.
"It's unstable all the time," she said. "You have to correct it every two seconds. I'm not going to say it's more difficult than flying an airplane because all the pilots will get mad at me, but it takes a little more concentration."
Cranga just finished up a job working as a helicopter instructor at Tomlinson Aviation at the Ormond Beach Municipal Airport. She wants to spend some time working towards her next goal: flying a search and rescue helicopter. Originally from France, Cranga is looking to continue her studies and move on to her next job across the pond.
"If I can stay in the States I will," she said. "Flying over the beach is amazing."
