The Pilot Life is for Me!

We’re giving you the inside scoop on what it’s like to be a pilot in training. We’re interviewing Pilot Allison (@pilot.allison), one of our influencers! She is more than halfway done with her pilot training and has been in the aviation industry for 10 years. She cannot get enough of being high above the clouds and wanted to further her career in aviation. Virtually anyone can fly, you just have to set your mind to it and be extremely passionate about planes. 

Have you always wanted to be a pilot? When did you realize you wanted to be one?

“I’ve always wanted to be a pilot, but never thought I actually would. I worked as a flight attendant for Emirates Airline and would hear unique stories from pilots on the flight deck. After hearing so many of these stories and having more conversations with pilots, that’s when I knew. It was halfway through my career as a flight attendant that I realized I wanted to be a pilot.” Allison stated that females from The Ninety-Nines, which is an international organization of women pilots, pushed her to follow her dreams. Last July she resigned from her previous position as a flight attendant and came to Toronto to pursue her career as a pilot.

Can you walk us through an average day of flight training?

“It’s definitely the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. I’m doing a full-time program that is very intense. It starts off with a 2 hour drive to the airport, then I fly for 2 hours upon arriving there. I get an hour break in between my training. Then, I have classes for 4 hours. Flight training is every day of the week, except I had today off which never happens!” Flight training requires extensive amounts of time, patience, and determination. You have to be extremely passionate about flying to complete this and dedicate yourself to learning the ins and outs of the entire industry. 

What’s the most difficult part of your flight training?

“There’s a two part answer to this question. To start, the weather. Living in Canada – the weather gets pretty harsh during the winter. Half of the year is terrible flying weather as you have to deal with the cold, snow and ice. Second, the intensity of all of it is extremely difficult. It is a full-time, non-stop job as there is so much to learn within a short period of time.” The average temperature during a winter in Toronto is 2º Celsius or 37º Farenheit. Definitely not the easiest weather to train in due to extremely cold temperatures and low visibility. However, when you’re passionate about what you love you will do anything it takes to push through and succeed. 


Being a pilot isn’t easy, yet it’s the passion for aviation and the people within the industry that push you to follow your dreams that make it all worth it. Allison is a prime example of the amazing people within the Pilot Industry and her willingness to expand her skills into a new career shows that if you love something – go after it! It was a pleasure speaking with Allison to better understand why people want to enter this industry and what it truly takes to become a pilot.