Inspiring Future Aviators at Hillsboro Airshow 2024

The Oregon International Airshow was this past weekend in Hillsboro, and besides entertaining fans of all ages, many of the pilots hope to inspire future aviators in the process.

Melissa Burns, a mother of 2, and Alaska Airline pilot, flies the highly aerobatic aircraft,
Zivko Edge 540, and believes the aviation industry has come a long way when it comes to more female aviators and people from different backgrounds, including Women in Aviation and The 99s.

Nathan Hammond, with ghostwriter airshows was literally born into the business, where he took his first flight at the tender age of barely a week old.

He highlights the intense focus it takes to maneuver the plane in the air for aerobatic tricks and the importance of entertaining and thrilling a crowd, without scaring them in the process. He hopes that these shows will inspire future aviators to come into the industry on the grandest of scales “the real reason we’re out here is to inspire the next generation of aerospace. Not just pilots, not just mechanics, but if we want to go to Mars, we need someone with the technical know-how to program the systems to get us to Mars or farther.