Please join me in saying “Welcome Aboard” to the newest member of the ReviewBeforeFlight team, Tanya Estes! I’m incredibly excited to welcome Tanya to the fold here on the blog, I know everyone will love her writing, stories and posts!
Tanya (right) and her husband Ray flying in a DA-40, December 2017.
Tanya isn’t your average pilot, her aviation resume is extremely impressive and on top of that she is one of the best people I have met in aviation. I know Tanya as Lieutenant Colonel Estes, the coach of the West Point flying team from my experience as a National Intercollegiate Flying Association competition judge in the Northeast. Working with Tanya in that capacity as well as at non-NIFA flying contests I have had the opportunity to get to know Tanya, and found her to be a great pro-aviation advocate.
Tanya’s flying teams have always been great, both in competition and camaraderie, internally and with the other flight teams. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to be a part of the Northeast competitions in-person for the past couple of years since I moved to Florida, but I have stayed in touch with Tanya and am very excited to have her join us as a writer! Between her military flying experience, flight team coaching and personal flying she brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to our blog, and I for one look forward to learning from her.
Tanya has been flying for 30 years, having taken her first lesson in 1987 (Literally the year I was born :p). She completed her first solo flight when she was 16 and earned her Private Pilot’s License a few months after her 17th birthday. She attended Embry-Riddle in Daytona Beach for a year before being accepted to the United States Military Academy. After graduating from West Point, she served as an AH-64A Apache pilot and was designated as an instructor pilot in 2001. She has deployed in support of Operation Joint Forge to Bosnia and Operation Iraqi Freedom in Kuwait and Iraq.
Tanya earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering (Aero) from the United States Military Academy in 1995, Master of Science in Computer Science from North Carolina State University in 2004, and a Ph.D. in Human-Centered Computing from Georgia Institute of Technology in 2012. She has been on active duty in the US Army since 1995, and currently serves as the Information Technology Program Director at the United States Military Academy. She is also the Officer-in-Charge of the West Point Flying Team, which competes in NIFA and non-NIFA events.
Tanya is an instrument rated commercial pilot, multi-engine land, single-engine land, and rotorcraft. She is also a certified flight instructor (airplane and instrument), single-engine land, as well as an AH-64A instructor pilot for the US Army. When she isn’t flying, she enjoys skiing, climbing, hiking and skydiving.
Looks like it’s time for Tanya to visit America’s Seaplane City and add on a seaplane rating, it has to be the only rating she doesn’t have… As you can see Tanya is a highly experienced, well-trained pilot who has a great deal of knowledge and experience. Knowing her demeanor and enthusiasm for aviation, I can’t wait to see her writing appearing on ReviewBeforeFlight regularly! Again, welcome Tanya!
-Fly Safe, @MTElia1B9
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