A Whirlwind with the Whirly-Girls in Anaheim

By WG #2185 Oceana Gamel Howes 

This past scholarship season, I was fortunate enough to be awarded the Jean Tinsley Memorial Scholarship, which gave me access to the Whirly-Girls Annual Banquet, HAI HELI-EXPO, and a meal/travel stipend. This scholarship gave me a huge career advancement due to the industry connections, but the most valuable by far were the ones I made with my fellow Whirly-Girls. 

I was born and raised in Alaska, a place known for its abundance of aviation. However, at the time, I was isolated from that community. Back then, aviation to me was just rich old men flying in the bush or the airlines. I can’t say either of those was ever too appealing to me, but my first experience in a helicopter changed everything.  

During the summer of 2018, when the Big Island of Hawaii was experiencing active and heavy lava flow, my mother suggested we take an aerial tour of the phenomenon. I had finally accepted a college offer (at my parents’ insistence) and was due to start classes in the fall, but I wasn’t feeling confident with my choice. Aboard the helicopter, I was sitting in the back-middle seat, which afforded me a perfect view of the pilot at the controls. 

I watched the pilot the entire flight, thinking, “That doesn’t look that hard; I bet I could do that.” (Flash forward five years, as a tour pilot myself flying Astars in Alaska…I can tell you that I was wrong and it is, in fact, quite difficult!) Feeling inspired after the tour, I arranged a meeting with a family friend who flew medevac and hearing about her experiences as a pilot sealed the deal–I was going to pursue aviation. This meeting was the first time I heard of the Whirly-Girls and learned about their mission.

Over the years I have leaned on that mentor frequently, and her presence in my career taught me the importance of having experienced and empowering female support. That was my motivation to apply for the Jean Tinsley Memorial Scholarship: to meet other female aviators and potentially be that person for someone else.

While I enjoyed my whole Expo experience immensely, my favorite part had to be the banquet on the first night. It was fun to meet all the other scholarship recipients and meet some of the biggest supporters and sponsors of the Whirly-Girls. I also felt very inspired, hearing every woman’s background at the annual hovering, and, at times, found myself experiencing imposter syndrome sitting in a room full of so many incredible women.

The Expo itself was a thrilling whirlwind. If you are lucky enough to find yourself as the winner of this scholarship, bring your walking shoes. And sleep before you arrive– you will have a packed schedule that takes you from one handshake with the person you’ve been dying to meet to the coolest helicopter you’ve ever sat into a lecture that totally inspires you. The whole event is saturated with passionate people who love the same things you love. Just when you think it’s over for the day, you’ll be racing to change into evening attire and heading right back out the door for an industry-sponsored event with free food and live music. I felt like a kid on Christmas morning.

Being at HAI HELI-EXPO and meeting all these women from around the world made me proud to be a Whirly-Girl. I feel honored to carry on the legacy of so many powerful women who paved the way, and I hope I can inspire the future generation of female aviators as much as they inspired me. Thank you again to the Jean Tinsley Memorial and the Whirly-Girls!