Glaze and Grit
Glaze and Grit
Tajae Viaene: Chief Flight Instructor with Fargo Jet Center (Episode 10)
Continuing the Uncharted theme for Season 2, Tajae Viaene, the Chief Flight Instructor at the Fargo Jet Center, shares her journey on the podcast.
With more than 3,000 flight hours and an Airline Transport Pilot Certificate earned, she chooses to focus her energy on teaching our next generation of pilots and flight instructors. Tajae frequently publishes flight training articles, speaks at safety seminars, and spends her free time soaring the air in her very own Cessna 180 taildragger aircraft.
"If you can find a job where your passion lies, and where you find contentment in inspiring others...you'll never work a day in your life." - Tajae Viaene
To connect with Tajae:
Email: tviaene@fargojet.com
Facebook: @fargojetcenter
Twitter: @fargojetcenter
Instagram: @fargojetcenter
Website: www.fargojet.com
Being able to see in an entirely different viewpoint than you've ever had. It was pretty incredible, but it's so neat to be able to actually fly an airplane and try it out.
Jessi Woinarowicz:Glaze and Grit is a podcast where honest and real conversations are front and center. A conversation where Fargo, Morehead, area, business owners, thought leaders, advocates, and visionaries share their lessons learned and provide a fresh perspective to better inform and support you in your journey. It's about sharing the real story to inspire lead and encourage. All right here in my backyard of Fargo, North Dakota, it all starts with a conversation, an honest one I'm Jessi, Woinarowicz, and this is Glaze and Grit. It was such a privilege to connect with my next guest, continuing the uncharted theme for season two, I sat down via zoom with Tajae, the chief flight instructor at the Fargo Jet Center. We discussed the moment that changed the trajectory of her career and led her to fulfilling her passion of flying and teaching the next generation of pilots and flight instructors. What spoke to me in our conversation is her drive, determination, and focus to achieve her goals and help others achieve theirs, not only in the air, but the impact you can make every day. Thank you again for being on. I really appreciate it.
Tajae Viaene:And I'm looking forward to our conversation.
Jessi Woinarowicz:You attended North Dakota state university and earned your degree in biochemistry. However, there was a pivot in your future.
Tajae Viaene:I didn't grow up with my family, so it certainly wasn't in my radar as a career until I was a junior in college, certainly science, centralized flying and get my private pilot. Um, so that's the first certificate you earned prior to further training? As I was finishing my degree at NDSU, I was also continuing like training lessons and finished my private pilot. And then I had this grand idea, which sounds a little crazy thinking back, but I did it and I was flying all over, having a blast. And I, I began to think, you know, this is getting really expensive. I should probably figure out what to do with my life. Every time I thought of a career option with my degree, it all had to be in relation to making enough money so I could continue flying. And then I had this great idea why don't I just fly and get paid for it? So when I kind of came to that conclusion, I started getting more serious about my career plans and how I was going to achieve those goals. I certainly wasn't getting money from family or relatives. So I needed to kind of figure out how to do that financially as well. I just had to make the decision. Was I going to go with an aviation path or was I going to go with a biochemistry science industry or, or, um, medical school path? And I chose, I wanted to fly. It was a heck of a lot of fun. And the best option for me was to get a job. And I started in customer service. So the time that I worked at the Jet Center, I was surrounded by airplanes and pilots, just building up relationships with the company, but also how it's in their area, learning familiarizing with other airplanes. And then that's when I did all the rest of my flight training and then came over to the flight school. Honestly, I was absolutely astonished that in a very first flight in a little airplane, the instructor is able to let you hold the control, handle the control, fly the airplane. And once you get off the ground, being able to see the city, the lights, the sky in an entirely different viewpoint than you've ever had. It was pretty incredible. This discovery flight itself is just a little under an hour, but it's so neat to be able to actually fly an airplane and try it out. So yeah, that's kind of that got me hooked and then fast forward to now being the chief flight instructor.
Jessi Woinarowicz:Can you share that journey to get to where you're at right now?
Tajae Viaene:I s uppose it's probably been six or seven years later. And in next time I've held many positions at the school a nd Mike Paulson, my supervisor now h e's j ust very driven and goal oriented. When I came onto the flight school, I was a flight instructor and I was kind of learning the ropes, learning how to instruct and teach others. And then I became a lead flight instructor. So it allows you to more so be a mentor to other instructors, kind of help them if they were just starting out after the lead flight instructor, I became the assistant chief flight instructor, and now I'm the chief. So basically working through earning experience and flight hours, uh, myself, as well as getting to the point where, I mean, in the beginning, you have to learn how to lead. And I've trained in now. So many point instructors I've made all the mistakes that they're starting to make, and I can certainly help them up and guide them. It has been a journey, but it has been a lot of fun. And I get to wake up in the morning and come out here and help people achieve their dream, which is pretty darn cool.
Jessi Woinarowicz:So neat. Is there anything that you'd like to share or lessons learned for, uh, for people looking into the aviation?
Tajae Viaene:Yeah, I'd say time management is huge and not only for each of our instructors, but also for myself. When I started at the flight school, we had three, one Cessna and one other larger plane, and now we have four, one Cessna72, we have two archers, we've got a one 82 and a Cirrus and another one on the way you get my drift. Um, it has been a lot of work and I'm not afraid of work, but it takes time management and organization to be able to manage not only that many aircraft and scheduling and maintenance, but also the instructors. Now we have, we have over eight instructors. That's the biggest team we've ever had. So I'd say lesson learned lessons learned would certainly come along with just trying to deal with scheduling and staying ahead of the game. As far as upcoming meetings and students come into play with all that, it's been almost like I've gotten to grow with the school, which is pretty neat. Honestly, I would say my mom, she just worked herself up the corporate ladder, just with a cosmetology license. She ended up as the VP of L'Oreal in the end. Now she's got her own business and is working through that. So I would say honestly, I stopped so much derive and was surrounded by that being my mother worked through that even just as a female in the pilot world, it still needs to step out of a twin engine, plane with a student that is a male. And, uh, still the line guys, when they want to feel up the plane, they'll ask that students how much fuel we need and the student will just look confused and then point to me and say, Oh, I don't know. She knows. And it's such a privilege. And an honor to just be, be the one that, that has needed this car and get to call myself a pilot, but also a leader and kind of go like that.
Jessi Woinarowicz:I love it. That's A perfect segue to my next question. A key component for young girls to be able to see themselves as a pilot or work in aviation is for them to see women in those positions as the number of women involved in the aviation industry has increased. The number is still very small with women pilots representing only 6% of the total pilot population. Can you speak to your experiences of being a woman in a male dominated field and what we can do as a society to help girls and women be more represented in aviation?
Tajae Viaene:The biggest thing that I've seen is that honestly rolling up in, through initial costs, even elementary school and high school, as far as looking at career options, we're not even exposing the young women to this option as much as we could. And every time I get a female ask about flight training or a high school student that asks about what their options are, I it's important that they get to see another female in a role like this, but man, we've got it. We've got to reach out to more high schools and get those kids out for more tours, more exposure, to hear the airplanes, to see all the career options in aviation. So that those females actually think about this as a real choice. And then as far as that goes, once they actually see this as a choice, there are scholarships out there there's many things that are out there geared towards helping youngs get to that next step. So there's some good things out there. And I've had a very positive experience as a female in aviation,
Jessi Woinarowicz:Wonderful visibility and representation are just so powerful. If someone wants to learn more about getting their pilot certification, what should they consider? And then the steps.
Tajae Viaene:So the first thing that we recommend is that that person come in for a one-on-one tour that allows them to see our aircraft make decisions as far as which aircraft would meet their needs. It would allow them to basically meet with one-on-one with an instructor and kind of get to know each other, talk about the pricing, how they would pay and go about plate training, and then also determine what kind of schedule they're looking for. Someone could decide to fly once a week for the over a course of six months and get a certificate, or maybe they've got a lot of free time and they want to fly every day for a month and get a certificate. The nice thing about our school is that we do online. We call it ground training, but knowledge about aviation and airspace and airplane. And then we bring this in together with one-on-one flight lessons. So someone can have a full-time job or a career already, and basically do their flying in the morning, evenings, weekends surrounding their career.
Speaker 3:Nice Tajae who inspires you?
Tajae Viaene:I would have to say, I have certainly emulated a lot of the steps and career choices that I've made around. Mike. He's been doing this a heck of a lot longer than me, and he's got a lot more gray hair than I do. He has a way about himself where he can be ahead of the game. As far as safety is concerned, as far as taking care of customers is concerned. And one thing that's so interesting that he can teach someone a complex topic and say it in the simplest manner so that they can grasp that topic. And I'm still striving to meet that. But yeah, he's kind of a staple around here as far as the pilot community goes. And whenever we go to pay a client on a weekend, everybody will say, where's Mike Paulson. I would say, honestly, I strive to become that person someday.
Jessi Woinarowicz:What is something you think everyone should do at least once in their life?
Tajae Viaene:I would say the impact that that discovery flight had on my self will be something everybody should do. It's a small commitment and a small price for an incredible experience. And it can be done in the evening, city lights over Fargo. You could do a sunset or sunrise place seeing the world in a different point of view. So I'd say that's definitely something everybody should try. One.
Jessi Woinarowicz:Speaking of seeing the world in a different point of view, you shared that you climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, is that correct? Can you share more about that experience?
Tajae Viaene:So it's funny, but I never really had it on my radar, but I had a friend who asked me if I would climb it with her. And she asked me about six months prior to the climb. And I said, yeah, sure. I'll climate with. Yeah. And then as it got closer and closer, I realized that this was really going to happen. So we did it. We went to Africa and climbed the mountain and it was hard and challenging. And you change from going from the rain forest to basically just rock, wind and climbing above the clouds. So you could look down and see the clouds as you were climbing. It was, it was incredible. And it was certainly very tasking on your body and your mental space. And so it was very neat to see how far you can push yourself and reaching, reaching. The top was pretty incredible.
Speaker 3:How long did that take you?
Tajae Viaene:It took six days. And because you have to basically climb up slowly to a climate, that's your blood and your oxygen level can continue climbing. And it's really, I mean, it's over 19,000 feet everyday. You wake up and you hike hours, but in the end you get to just climb a heck of a lot. No, that was my first and only Hills to practice on or even any mountain, honestly, during the time prior to going on this mountain, I hiked up and down the so that I could try out my hiking shoes. So that was my training was literally hiking up in town. That's incredible. It's funny where you never really know how your body's going to react to that much exertion and he didn't seem to necessarily depend on how good you were or not. And so everybody was climbing the mountain, just doing the best they could, but you have such a bond and a friendship with those other people that you're climbing with over the course of those days. So everybody's taking care of everybody.
Speaker 3:Can you share a piece of advice you've learned thus far in your journey?
Tajae Viaene:I would say, well, I could probably give you a lot of advice for one piece of advice that I should have taken early on was to apply for scholarships. There's a lot of free money out there for people that are interested in flight training. And man, I wish I had done that, but, uh, one piece of advice would be to sit down, write those essays, take the time and fill out a number of scholarships because there's help out there for people that want to be in the aviation field, have an interest or want to try it out. Even there's money out there that can be put towards trying it out and moving forward with your aviation career, much faster.
Speaker 3:What's next on the horizon?
Tajae Viaene:Well, like I said, I certainly am emulating Mike Paulson and in that I want to become a designated pilot examiner. So I want to be able to do a final check ride and it took me years to earn enough flight hours to meet the requirements to apply. And I did that except the virus happened. So right now we're just kind of in a waiting period, as far as when, or if I'll be selected to do the training for that. But that is a huge goal for me and something I feel is very important, not for my career, but also to be able to give back to the flight school. There's very few pilot examiners in each States. I believe North Dakota probably only has four right now. So it's a big goal. It's going to take a lot of work and a lot of training, but it's something that I definitely want to see happen in the next few years.
Jessi Woinarowicz:So if someone was interested in doing a discovery flight, should they go to the website and reach out that way?
Tajae Viaene:So we've got a contact form on the website that they can fill out directly. And then it sends an automatic email us. We also have all of our emails and our cell phone numbers, even on the website so they can reach out to any of us. And then they can do a tour and come out and learn more. And that doesn't cost anything. So there's no requirements for that. And the discovery flight is$149. And the website is fargojet.com. When you go to cargo jet.com, click on flight school, and we've got all the information on there as well. Is there anything else you'd like to add? I know there's a lot of people that are unsure about becoming a pilot when they hear about what airlines are going through right now and the furloughs and things going on with the virus. Although our school has never been so busy. So there's a ton of people taking advantage of this low and they're taking advantage of the extra free time and career change and going through other pilots, time earnings, flight hours, so that when airlines do pick up, then they're ready to be hired.
Jessi Woinarowicz:Tajae, I would love to spend their time with a little lightning round of questions. Coffee or tea?
Tajae Viaene:I usually make a big pot of coffee and I hop into an airplane after another airplane. And by the end of the day, I've had people ask me, have you ever landed in Morehead or Jamestown? And I can usually tell them, yeah. About 10 times today.
Jessi Woinarowicz:What is your favorite dessert?
:Oh gosh. My favorite dessert lately has been brownie. I'm big on the brownies.
Jessi Woinarowicz:Skiing or surfing?
Tajae Viaene:Neither. I'm a snowboarder.
Jessi Woinarowicz:How do you manage your stress?
Tajae Viaene:Gosh, I've got a St Bernard at home and it's so much fun to just run around and play with her and she's my dream dog. And so I play with my synchronize.
Jessi Woinarowicz:Where was the best vacation you've ever taken?
Tajae Viaene:Was probably taking my son to Germany. That was pretty incredible.
Jessi Woinarowicz:Who impresses you?
Tajae Viaene:I'm impressed by someone who isn't afraid to put in the effort for something they want. I'm impressed by people who work hard, who have an interest in learning. And I absolutely will give my all to those people and help them.
Jessi Woinarowicz:And last one, climb a mountain or sky.
Tajae Viaene:Well, since I've already done the mountain, I actually would be interested in skydiving.
Jessi Woinarowicz:Cool. Have you sky dived?
Tajae Viaene:Have never done it and I really should. We've actually joked about having all the flight instructors do it together. We all jumped out of an airplane. That would be pretty neat.
Jessi Woinarowicz:That would be very, very neat. Thank you so much for coming on and sharing. I really appreciate it.
Tajae Viaene:I appreciate the time.
Jessi Woinarowicz:Hey, thanks so much for listening in today. If you would like to learn more about Tajae and the incredible community members highlighted on the show checkout, glazeandgritpodcast.com. Also, if you enjoyed this episode, please let us know by subscribing, rating, and sharing. It truly does help to amplify our guest voices and their journey. Thanks again for listening. I'm Jessi Woinarowicz, talk to you soon.