We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Karina The Pilot a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Karina, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

My name is Karina. I am a Commercial Pilot and I am also the founding chairman of the Nashville Ninety-Nines.

The Nashville Ninety-Nines was founded over two years ago along with two of my female pilot friends. We are an organization committed to promoting the advancement of aviation by providing a support system, education, and scholarships. We currently have over 85 active members and have awarded multiple scholarships of diverse kinds. To me, it is fundamental to have a strong community that encourages and supports you along the way in the industry.

For me, it has never been about just getting to the finish line and achieving my goals as a pilot, but to bring along other people who are going in the same direction as I am. Throughout my career and aviation journey, I have had so much support from my friends and family, and this is something that I want to provide to other pilots. There is nothing more satisfactory that seeing other pilots achieve their dreams too. I love being an advocate for women pilots and finding ways to raise the percentage of women in the industry. I also enjoy creating aviation content on my social media platforms.

Our Mission at the Nashville Ninety Nines is to promote the advancement of aviation through education, scholarships, and mutual support while honoring our unique history and sharing our passion for flight.

Karina, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I was born and raised in Monterrey (Mexico) and currently live in Nashville (United States). And one of my favorite individuals in the planet is my Dad, who is also a pilot. You can say that aviation runs deep in the family. Since I was a teenager, I remember flying with my dad as a passenger. Until a few years later curiosity go the best of my and “something clicked” where I suddenly felt the urge to get behind the controls. I remember my dad was so surprised since I had never mentioned anything before, but eagerly “gave me the control” and that’s when I knew this was something I wanted to get into. After that flight, I came back home and Nashville and enrolled and began flight training at Tennessee Flight Training.

Just like my story, everyone has a different story about how they got into aviation. I get inspired by every time I hear someone share their story. One of my main objectives is to let people know that being a pilot is possible and there are many ways and resources out there to achieve and obtain a pilot certificate.

What makes our group so unique is the fact that our members range from Student Pilots to Airline Captains. In the past year, the Nashville Ninety-Nines have granted over 5 scholarships to its members granting them the opportunity to continue pursuing a rating. Aside from this scholarships, I can firmly testify that our organization has provided an avenue for female pilots in our area to build long lasting relationships, mentorship, and networking opportunities that have been beneficial for their aviation journey.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

My social media “Karina the Pilot” is a small window into my life. A window that represents my journey in this industry. On my social media, I follow people that I can relate and someone that shares their struggles and victories so I can learn and cheer with them. That is what I do on my outlets. I started my outlets as a way to keep in touch with friends and family, since they were always asking be about my flight training. After a little, I began noticing that other pilots and individuals were following my journey to the point that I felt like we were a community. I have met so many of my “internet friends” in real life and it is amazing. For anyone starting their page, I would encourage to stay true to your brand and mission, and always be kind to others.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

For this question, I would like to say something more like…”Training Advice” for other pilots or someone who is currently learning something new.

The number one recommendation or advice I would like to give to any Student pilot or someone who is currently learning something new is: If you don’t click with your instructor, SWICH to a new one as soon as possible! If you have you caught yourself thinking that maybe it’s you, or if you start feeling unmotivated, you might not have the right instructor for you.

I have heard many horror stories about students who stay with the wrong instructor for so long that they end up quitting or wasting so much time and money. Flight deck chemistry is a real thing and very fundamental when learning. As a student, for your initial ratings you need to have a solid knowledge foundation. Learning all that information will be so much easier if you have a healthy professional relationship with your flight instructor. We all have different learning styles, so look for an instructor that teaches the way you learn. If you do not understand or if you are confused about something, do not be afraid to speak up.

If something is not working the way you expected, don’t give up and switch instructors. Any professional instructor won’t be insulted by your decision to switch instructors. At the end of the day, you should be receiving a fun and educational training that results in obtaining your pilot certificate.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://nashville99s.org/
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/karinathepilot
• Other: https://nashville99s.org/ https://www.instagram.com/nashville99s