Blog

Dreams Soar: Making Dreams a Reality for Women Seeking Aviation Careers

Barbara Mohr | - 05/12/2017

Dreams Soar: Making Dreams a Reality for Women Seeking Aviation Careers: Many industrialized nations are facing a shortage of qualified candidates to fill science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) roles in the coming decade. The same holds true for aviation too. One woman hopes to help change that.

Shaesta Waiz, the first Afghan female to become a certified general aviation pilot, has set her sights on inspiring young women around the globe to actively pursue challenging yet rewarding STEM-related careers, including those in the aviation industry. And what better way to inspire these women than to lead by example?

Shaesta, with the help of numerous partners worldwide, will embark on a special mission called Dreams Soar – a solo, around-the-world flight beginning on Saturday, May 13, 2017. She will take off from Sheltair Aviation at Daytona Beach International Airport (KDAB). She plans to make 30 stops in 18 countries across five continents – for a total of 25.800 nautical miles. This flight will be the second time a female has circumnavigated the globe; plus, she will be the youngest female pilot to attempt it.

The plan is to make three stops in North America; cross the Atlantic to Europe for four stops; then four stops in the Middle East; five stops in Asia; on to Australia for two more; cross the Pacific and stop seven more times. Then, it will be back to North America for a ten-leg crossing of the continental U.S. She will end up back in Daytona Beach, where the mission started.

The planned route Shaesta will take:

From	To	Distance
KDAB Daytona Beach, Florida	KCMH Columbus, Ohio	655 nm
KCMH Columbus, Ohio	CYUL Montréal, Canada	521 nm
CYUL Montréal, Canada	CYYT St. Johns, Canada	876 nm
CYYT St. Johns, Canada	LPAZ Santa Maria, Portugal	1,374 nm
LPAZ Santa Maria, Portugal	LECU Madrid, Spain	1,023 nm
LECU Madrid, Spain	EGKB Biggin Hill, UK	673 nm
EGKB Biggin Hill, UK	LIRU Rome-Urbe, Italy	850 nm
LIRU Rome-Urbe, Italy	HECA Cairo, Egypt	1,157 nm
HECA Cairo, Egypt	OTBD Doha, Qatar	1,111 nm
OTBD Doha, Qatar	OMDB Dubai, UAE	207 nm
OMDB Dubai, UAE	VABB Mumbai, India	1,041 nm
VABB Mumbai, India	VECC Kolkata (Calcutta), India	901 nm
VECC Kolkata (Calcutta), India	VTBD Bangkok, Thailand	868 nm
VTBD Bangkok, Thailand	WSSL Singapore Seletar, Singapore	772 nm
WSSL Singapore Seletar, Singapore	WADD Bali, Indonesia	910 nm
WADD Bali, Indonesia	YPDN Darwin, Australia	953 nm
YPDN Darwin, Australia	YBCS Cairns, Australia	906 nm
YBCS Cairns, Australia	NWWW Nouméa, New Caledonia	1,199 nm
NWWW Nouméa, New Caledonia	NWWM Magenta, New Caledonia	21 nm
NWWW Magenta, New Caledonia	NFFN Nadi, Fiji	676 nm
NFFN Nadi, Fiji	NSTU Pago Pago, American Samoa	715 nm
NSTU Pago Pago, American Samoa	PLCH Christmas Island, Kiribati	1,258 nm
PLCH Christmas Island, Kiribati	PHTO Hilo, Hawaii	1,068 nm
PHTO Hilo, Hawaii	PHNL Honolulu, Hawaii	188 nm
PHNL Honolulu, Hawaii	KOAK Oakland, California	2,093 nm
KOAK Oakland, California	KSEE El Cajon, California	391 nm
KSEE El Cajon, California	KVGT Las Vegas, Nevada	225 nm
KVGT Las Vegas, Nevada	KDVT Phoenix, Arizona	215 nm
KDVT Phoenix, Arizona	KICT Wichita, Kansas	754 nm
KICT Wichita, Kansas	KGRR Grand Rapids, Michigan	630 nm
KGRR Grand Rapids, Michigan	KDCA Washington, D.C.	460 nm
KDCA Washington, D.C.	KPDK Atlanta, Georgia (Peachtree)	461 nm
KPDK Atlanta, Georgia (Peachtree)	KBFM Mobile, Alabama	273 nm
KBFM Mobile, Alabama	KDAB Daytona Beach, Florida	375 nm
Total:		25,800 nm

Source: dreamssoar.org

FlightAware will provide live tracking on the flight once it gets underway from Daytona Beach. To follow the flight, go to the Dreams Soar website.

Shaesta was born in Afghanistan and emigrated to the U.S. as a young girl with her parents and five sisters. They settled in Richmond, California in 1987. She discovered a fascination with aviation, which motivated her to attend Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, where she completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees – making her the first woman in her family to ever do so. While in college, she started the Women’s Ambassador Program designed to mentor young women who desire aviation and engineering careers.

To learn more about Shaesta’s unique and inspiring story, read her own words. For updates on this story, visit UAS Blog frequently over the coming months.