WACO, TX — A photo of a mother-daughter duo flying a plane has gone viral on Twitter.
The Delta pilots racked up more than 50,000 likes, along with plenty of comments and shares. The photo has also sparked a conversation about the need for more female pilots.
The young women in the pilot training program at TSTC in Waco are using this as a motivator as they break through a male-dominated industry.
Natalie Verhoog was a pre-med student at Baylor when she changed course on a whim. Now, she's just a couple months shy of graduating from TSTC.
"Took one flight lesson over the summer back home in California, paid for it with Christmas money and absolutely fell in love with it," Verhoog said. "Literally by take off I knew, I was like, 'oh my gosh I have to do this' I knew it's what I needed to do."
There are more than 100 pilots-in-training at TSTC. Like many of them, Verhoog will be the first pilot in her family. The difference is she's just one of 21 women in the program.
"There really isn't another field out there that is more male-dominated than aviation," Verhoog said. "But I talked to my mom about it and she's like, 'don't be scared, don't let anyone tell you you can't do something.'"
Verhoog said the photo on Twitter made her smile.
"My mom sent it to me and she was like, 'I wish I could've been a pilot for you, too,'" Verhoog said. "It's pretty amazing that that's happening now and it's going to become even more common."
Verhoog's flight instructor, Bond Durham, is a TSTC graduate herself.
Durham knows what it's like to be outnumbered by her male classmates, but she never let it discourage her on the tarmac.
"I walked in the building thinking I could totally show everyone up, actually," Durham said with a smile.
Durham said the photo on Twitter shows how things have progressed in the industry over the years.
"It's just so cool to see all the generations of women who are part of aviation," Durham said." It's really awesome to see women taking this amazing role."
Kendall Oppelt said her dad is the reason she chose aviation. He's a pilot with United Airlines.
She said they have plans to fly together once she graduates.
"Our final dream, or goal, is that I'll be in the left seat and he'll be in the right seat and that we'll be flying a commercial airline together," Oppelt said. "My dad is such a big role model to me so it's really awesome that, that girl and the mom were able to do that. For me to be able to do that one day is so unreal."
For these young women, they found their calling in the skies. Along the way, they became part of something bigger than themselves.
"You're not the first one to do it so you know it can be done," Verhoog said. "But you're still in a place where you can turn around and pull other girls up with you as you go, too."
"It's just so cool to see women following their dreams," Durham said. "I would encourage any woman out there that it's totally for them, just come and give it a try."
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, women make up about seven percent of pilots in the industry. The numbers at TSTC are much higher, with women making up about 19 percent of the program.
Over the next 20 years, the aviation industry will require 790,000 new pilots and 754,000 new maintenance technicians, according to Boeing.
