Vietnam's first female entrepreneur to own a private pilot's license

At an old age, businesswoman Ho Thanh Huong – CEO of Bluesky Airways – decided to register for a private pilot course with only one concern: her health when she realized that her classmates were mostly young people in their twenties.

Learning to fly a private plane is a completely new concept in Vietnam. Learning to fly a plane as a hobby, not for commercial purposes, is even rarer.

CEO Ho Thanh Huong during practice. Photo: NVCC

Holding the Private Pilot Training Course (PPL) certificate in hand in early July this year, Ms. Huong was able to enjoy the sky with privately registered single-engine piston engine aircraft.

This is a rather “stressful” course for non-professionals, as they have to continuously study theory for 1 month and practice flying for 13 weeks. Because she doesn’t have much time, Ms. Huong chose to study in blocks and finish the course ahead of schedule.

She still remembers the first time she sat in the cockpit of a training plane. Although she has worked in the aviation industry for more than two decades and is no stranger to domestic and international flights, the feeling of sitting in the cockpit was truly different, she confided.

“When you sit in a small space, right in front of you is a glass door, opening up to the vast space of the sky, it is a feeling that is both overwhelming and exciting and challenging.”

After completing the theory course and passing the rigorous test, she moved on to practical flying with higher health and precision requirements.

CEO Ho Thanh Huong checks the engine and engine oil before flying. Photo: NVCC

During more than 3 months of eating and sleeping on the training plane, the technique that Ms. Huong found most difficult was still landing. Because she was a woman, her steering was weaker than the male students, and she still couldn't land after practicing for a long time.

“I am the person who set the record for landing 19 times in nearly 2 hours of training.” But for her, the most frightening lesson is still “stall recovery”, which causes the plane to lose lift and the student must regain balance to continue the flight.

“In this lesson, the teacher will guide you to operate the plane when it loses lift and then ask you to recover. At that time, the plane has lost its nose and is diving towards the ground. In that state, it is impossible to say that you have not missed a heartbeat. And if the pilot cannot recover, the plane will fall freely to the ground from a height of thousands of meters.”

To complete the course in more than 3 months in Rach Gia (Kien Giang) while still living and working in Hanoi, Ms. Huong had to fly back and forth between the two places. During her office hours, she spent learning to fly, and during her company work, she did her work early in the morning before class and took a break at lunch or during breaks. In the evening, she diligently reviewed the theory.

“It was normal for me to study all night during the exam, just like I used to study for university entrance exams. But in return, the subjects to become a pilot were very interesting. There were many subjects I had never known before, such as: aerodynamics, weather, human factors in flight…”

After completing the course, she still regularly flies to Rach Gia to learn and improve new skills. Conquering the sky on private planes has been her dream for a long time, and now she has the time and conditions to do so. Therefore, she is determined to pursue this hobby for a long time.

Before takeoff. Photo: NVCC

When asked, the businesswoman smiled and said, "My son will definitely be the first person to sit on the right seat on my flights."

Originally an Amser, after studying at a domestic university and graduating with a master's degree from the University of Nottingham (UK), Ms. Huong is a model of a successful and modern woman.

When asked if there was too much pressure to become the current version, the businesswoman shared: “Most of the pressure is self-imposed and for me, that is not pressure. I feel happy when I can do what I like, and be challenged by difficulties. Of course, in life, there are still things that do not go as planned that I am not prepared for. For me, that is pressure. But I will find a way to overcome it.”

Her dream is that Vietnam will soon have flying clubs, creating a playground for people with private pilot certificates to exchange and learn like other sports.

Vietnamnet.vn

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/nu-doanh-nhan-dau-tien-cua-viet-nam-so-huu-bang-lai-may-bay-tu-nhan-2325825.html