Story by Rachael Tolliver

When Lt. Heather Cupitt was a small child she had a dream of being a pilot.

"My dad was in the Marines and when I was very young he would always show us clips of him being on the USS America during Vietnam working on the F4 Phantom," she recalled. "Seeing him around aircraft made me realize that if my dad could work on them then maybe I could fly them. That got me interested in aviation just being around that environment."

Now, at the ripe old age of 23, the Bucks County, Pa., native has not only learned to fly, she diversified-and added a transcontinental air race for women into the mix just for fun.

Cupitt's voyage started with a patriotic desire, and financial consideration.

"I joined ROTC because I always wanted to be in the military," she said. "My dad was in the military during Vietnam, and my grandfather was in the Army, but now there isn't anyone in my family in the military, and I think that everyone should have at least one person in their family serve."

But, she added, she'd already been accepted to Embry-Riddle University-a school well-known for its aviation and aerospace education-in Daytona Beach, Fla., and it wasn't a cheap school. She heard about ROTC through a college fair at her high school.

After examining the program she learned that she could have the opportunity to go to school, be in the military, and not worry about the financial burdens that accompany an education.

"The Army Reserve offered me a two-year scholarship," she recalled. "They gave me money to go to school for (my junior and senior years), they paid for my tuition, gave me book money, and (gave me) a stipend which helped to pay for rent and food each month. So I didn't necessarily have to worry about (making time for) ROTC, going to school and learn how to fly, AND getting a job. They help you take care of that."

After she accepted her scholarship-she contracted when she was a junior-she drilled with a local reserve unit through a program called the Simultaneous Membership Program, until she commissioned as a second lieutenant. That way she could shadow the unit's officers and learn what being an Army officer was about.

Part of her education included learning to first fly a Cessna 172, then she moved onto gliders and seaplanes-and Cupitt used her flying skills immediately after graduation to prove a point-she was ready to fly.

As a 21 year-old, she said she had an opportunity to fly in the Air Race Classic. Embry-Riddle and the Army ROTC program helped sponsor her so she and her teammate could compete.

"Embry-Riddle had never competed in the air race before-it was (my first air race) as well," she explained. "So I flew from Daytona Beach to Oklahoma City where the air race started, then went to Nebraska, Kansas, Kentucky, New York, Vermont, Maine, and we ended in St. Johns in BC Canada.

"We placed 3rd place in the college teams...and then (we) flew from St. Johns Canada all the way down the east coast back to Florida."

She said there were 47 two-woman teams-it was an all women race-she flew in a Cessna 172, establishing her fastest time so far, and flew over 4,000 nautical miles. She practiced not only what she learned about flight, but what she has learned about confidence, leadership, time management and responsibility.

From her education at ERU she gained the knowledge and experience to not only fly airplanes, but to qualify for a job as a civilian flight instructor-and she is still in her early twenty's. Her time in flight school at Fort Rucker, Ala., with the Army gave her the education and experience to fly helicopters-specifically the Chinook-where she said she has experienced one of her favorite moments.

"One of my favorite moments-so far-in the reserve is the first day I got to hover in a TH67 (helicopter)," she recalled. "It was kind of funny because everyone was bad at it. You have to balance so many things at one time. We all kind of laughed and said 'we're never going to get this, this is ridiculous.' My instructor said 'you just do it, just try.' And with his help I had to learn it on my own.

"One day it just clicked, and I thought, 'oh, I can hover.' And it was a good experience because it happened with everybody. We were all bad at first, but we could all relate to one another because none of us had flown before. It was a good camaraderie experience to have that same (thing happen to you)."

Cupitt added that flying a fixed wing aircraft and flying a Chinook helicopter are "two different animals."

"I can't say I like flying one better, but they each bring their own challenges-the aerodynamics are completely different," she said. "But there are some similarities (such as) if we are flying (with) instruments using our gauges to fly in the clouds or to do an approach it is the same thing, because both sets of instruments are the same. And both require pre-flights, but the Chinook is a little bit longer."

Her job as a Chinook pilot includes flying cargo around-whether it is equipment or soldiers.

"I get to fly soldiers around-not just one or two, I fly (more than) thirty soldiers around, I get to sling load anything from other aircraft, to vehicles, to water blivets," she explained. "We have so many capabilities and I get excited because I get to do all of that-and it is a challenge. It is a challenge flying the Chinook, it isn't easy, and takes a lot of planning each day. But once I get up in the air I am happy to be flying."

In the course of her four years in the reserve she said her most challenging moment so far as been SEER school-a required survival school that teaches a pilot how to evade, resist and escape which every military aviator has to complete.

"It is one of the best schools I have been to," she added. "It teaches you confidence if you crash and have to leave your helicopter, teaches you how to evade the situation and resist capture, and it lets you work with a team of people. (It) also gives me the confidence to do those tasks on my own."

She said in her time with the Army Reserve she has had her ups and down but through it all she has had the praise and support of her husband-a Kiowa helicopter pilot who is an active duty soldier-and her parents.

"Mom and dad are very excited for me," Cupitt said. "Mom thinks it's great that I am a female in the Army, and my dad will brag to their friends and our family any time...because they are so proud of my accomplishments and how far I have come,"

Yet she said her most exciting moment is on the immediate horizon-she volunteered to deploy to Iraq in October and is currently moving from Fort Lewis Wash., to Fort Bragg N.C., for training with her new unit.

"I'm itching to go on my first deployment and can't wait for my experiences, whether good or bad I am really excited about it," she explained. "I was in flight school for the last year and a half and I have friends who I commissioned with who are already back from Afghanistan or Iraq.

"I feel like it is my turn to go. It's a right of passage-being in the military, and deploying and sharing your experiences with other people."