November 9, 2020 • 21 mins
Continuing the Uncharted theme for Season 2, Tajae Viaene, the Chief Flight Instructor at the Fargo Jet Center, shares her journey on the podcast.
With more than 3,000 flight hours and an Airline Transport Pilot Certificate earned, she chooses to focus her energy on teaching our next generation of pilots and flight instructors. Tajae frequently publishes flight training articles, speaks at safety seminars, and spends her free time soaring the air in her very own Cessna 180 taildragger aircraft.
"If you can find a job where your passion lies, and where you find contentment in inspiring others...you'll never work a day in your life." - Tajae Viaene
To connect with Tajae:
Email: tviaene@fargojet.com
Facebook: @fargojetcenter
Twitter: @fargojetcenter
Instagram: @fargojetcenter
Website: www.fargojet.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Tajae Viaene (00:06):
Being able to see in an entirely different
viewpoint than you've ever had.
It was pretty incredible, butit's so neat to be able to
actually fly an airplane and tryit out.
Jessi Woinarowicz (00:32):
Glaze and Grit is a podcast where honest
and real conversations are frontand center.
A conversation where Fargo,Morehead, area, business owners,
thought leaders, advocates, andvisionaries share their lessons
learned and provide a freshperspective to better inform and
support you in your journey.
It's about sharing the realstory to inspire lead and
(00:54):
encourage.
All right here in my backyard ofFargo, North Dakota, it all
starts with a conversation, anhonest one I'm Jessi,
Woinarowicz, and this is Glazeand Grit.
It was such a privilege toconnect with my next guest,
continuing the uncharted themefor season two, I sat down via
(01:16):
zoom with Tajae, the chiefflight instructor at the Fargo
Jet Center.
We discussed the moment thatchanged the trajectory of her
career and led her to fulfillingher passion of flying and
teaching the next generation ofpilots and flight instructors.
What spoke to me in ourconversation is her drive,
determination, and focus toachieve her goals and help
(01:40):
others achieve theirs, not onlyin the air, but the impact you
can make every day.
Thank you again for being on.
I really appreciate it.
Tajae Viaene (01:53):
And I'm looking forward to our conversation.
Jessi Woinarowicz (01:58):
You attended North Dakota state university
and earned your degree inbiochemistry.
However, there was a pivot inyour future.
Tajae Viaene (02:09):
I didn't grow up with my family, so it certainly
wasn't in my radar as a careeruntil I was a junior in college,
certainly science, centralizedflying and get my private pilot.
(03:01):
Um, so that's the firstcertificate you earned prior to
further training?
As I was finishing my degree atNDSU, I was also continuing like
training lessons and finished myprivate pilot.
And then I had this grand idea,which sounds a little crazy
thinking back, but I did it andI was flying all over, having a
(03:25):
blast.
And I, I began to think, youknow, this is getting really
expensive.
I should probably figure outwhat to do with my life.
Every time I thought of a careeroption with my degree, it all
had to be in relation to makingenough money so I could continue
flying.
And then I had this great ideawhy don't I just fly and get
(03:46):
paid for it?
So when I kind of came to thatconclusion, I started getting
more serious about my careerplans and how I was going to
achieve those goals.
I certainly wasn't getting moneyfrom family or relatives.
So I needed to kind of figureout how to do that financially
as well.
I just had to make the decision.
Was I going to go with anaviation path or was I going to
(04:07):
go with a biochemistry scienceindustry or, or, um, medical
school path?
And I chose, I wanted to fly.
It was a heck of a lot of fun.
And the best option for me wasto get a job.
And I started in customerservice.
So the time that I worked at theJet Center, I was surrounded by
airplanes and pilots, justbuilding up relationships with
(04:30):
the company, but also how it'sin their area, learning
familiarizing with otherairplanes.
And then that's when I did allthe rest of my flight training
and then came over to the flightschool.
Honestly, I was absolutelyastonished that in a very first
flight in a little airplane, theinstructor is able to let you
(04:52):
hold the control, handle thecontrol, fly the airplane.
And once you get off the ground,being able to see the city, the
lights, the sky in an entirelydifferent viewpoint than you've
ever had.
It was pretty incredible.
This discovery flight itself isjust a little under an hour, but
it's so neat to be able toactually fly an airplane and try
(05:13):
it out.
So yeah, that's kind of that gotme hooked and then fast forward
to now being the chief flightinstructor.
Jessi Woinarowicz (05:24):
Can you share that journey to get to where
you're at right now?
Tajae Viaene (05:31):
I s uppose it's probably been six or seven years
later.
And in next time I've held manypositions at the school a nd
Mike Paulson, my supervisor nowh e's j ust very driven and goal
oriented.
When I came onto the flightschool, I was a flight
instructor and I was kind oflearning the ropes, learning how
to instruct and teach others.
And then I became a lead flightinstructor.
(05:53):
So it allows you to more so be amentor to other instructors,
kind of help them if they werejust starting out after the lead
flight instructor, I became theassistant chief flight
instructor, and now I'm thechief.
So basically working throughearning experience and flight
hours, uh, myself, as well asgetting to the point where, I
(06:15):
mean, in the beginning, you haveto learn how to lead.
And I've trained in now.
So many point instructors I'vemade all the mistakes that
they're starting to make, and Ican certainly help them up and
guide them.
It has been a journey, but ithas been a lot of fun.
And I get to wake up in themorning and come out here and
(06:36):
help people achieve their dream,which is pretty darn cool.
Jessi Woinarowicz (06:39):
So neat.
Is there anything that you'dlike to share or lessons learned
for, uh, for people looking intothe aviation?
Tajae Viaene (06:48):
Yeah, I'd say time management is huge and not only
for each of our instructors, butalso for myself.
When I started at the flightschool, we had three, one Cessna
and one other larger plane, andnow we have four, one Cessna72,
we have two archers, we've got aone 82 and a Cirrus and another
(07:09):
one on the way you get my drift.
Um, it has been a lot of workand I'm not afraid of work, but
it takes time management andorganization to be able to
manage not only that manyaircraft and scheduling and
maintenance, but also theinstructors.
Now we have, we have over eightinstructors.
(07:30):
That's the biggest team we'veever had.
So I'd say lesson learnedlessons learned would certainly
come along with just trying todeal with scheduling and staying
ahead of the game.
As far as upcoming meetings andstudents come into play with all
that, it's been almost like I'vegotten to grow with the school,
(07:50):
which is pretty neat.
Honestly, I would say my mom,she just worked herself up the
corporate ladder, just with acosmetology license.
She ended up as the VP ofL'Oreal in the end.
Now she's got her own businessand is working through that.
(08:13):
So I would say honestly, Istopped so much derive and was
surrounded by that being mymother worked through that even
just as a female in the pilotworld, it still needs to step
out of a twin engine, plane witha student that is a male.
And, uh, still the line guys,when they want to feel up the
plane, they'll ask that studentshow much fuel we need and the
(08:36):
student will just look confusedand then point to me and say,
Oh, I don't know.
She knows.
And it's such a privilege.
And an honor to just be, be theone that, that has needed this
car and get to call myself apilot, but also a leader and
kind of go like that.
Jessi Woinarowicz (08:54):
I love it.
That's A perfect segue to mynext question.
A key component for young girlsto be able to see themselves as
a pilot or work in aviation isfor them to see women in those
positions as the number of womeninvolved in the aviation
industry has increased.
The number is still very smallwith women pilots representing
(09:15):
only 6% of the total pilotpopulation.
Can you speak to yourexperiences of being a woman in
a male dominated field and whatwe can do as a society to help
girls and women be morerepresented in aviation?
Tajae Viaene (09:28):
The biggest thing that I've seen is that honestly
rolling up in, through initialcosts, even elementary school
and high school, as far aslooking at career options, we're
not even exposing the youngwomen to this option as much as
we could.
And every time I get a femaleask about flight training or a
(09:49):
high school student that asksabout what their options are, I
it's important that they get tosee another female in a role
like this, but man, we've got it.
We've got to reach out to morehigh schools and get those kids
out for more tours, moreexposure, to hear the airplanes,
to see all the career options inaviation.
So that those females actuallythink about this as a real
(10:13):
choice.
And then as far as that goes,once they actually see this as a
choice, there are scholarshipsout there there's many things
that are out there gearedtowards helping youngs get to
that next step.
So there's some good things outthere.
And I've had a very positiveexperience as a female in
aviation,
Jessi Woinarowicz (10:33):
Wonderful visibility and representation
are just so powerful.
If someone wants to learn moreabout getting their pilot
certification, what should theyconsider?
And then the steps.
Tajae Viaene (10:45):
So the first thing that we recommend is that that
person come in for a one-on-onetour that allows them to see our
aircraft make decisions as faras which aircraft would meet
their needs.
It would allow them to basicallymeet with one-on-one with an
instructor and kind of get toknow each other, talk about the
pricing, how they would pay andgo about plate training, and
(11:07):
then also determine what kind ofschedule they're looking for.
Someone could decide to fly oncea week for the over a course of
six months and get acertificate, or maybe they've
got a lot of free time and theywant to fly every day for a
month and get a certificate.
The nice thing about our schoolis that we do online.
We call it ground training, butknowledge about aviation and
(11:29):
airspace and airplane.
And then we bring this intogether with one-on-one flight
lessons.
So someone can have a full-timejob or a career already, and
basically do their flying in themorning, evenings, weekends
surrounding their career.
Speaker 3 (11:44):
Nice Tajae who inspires you?
Tajae Viaene (11:48):
I would have to say, I have certainly emulated a
lot of the steps and careerchoices that I've made around.
Mike.
He's been doing this a heck of alot longer than me, and he's got
a lot more gray hair than I do.
He has a way about himself wherehe can be ahead of the game.
As far as safety is concerned,as far as taking care of
(12:12):
customers is concerned.
And one thing that's sointeresting that he can teach
someone a complex topic and sayit in the simplest manner so
that they can grasp that topic.
And I'm still striving to meetthat.
But yeah, he's kind of a staplearound here as far as the pilot
(12:33):
community goes.
And whenever we go to pay aclient on a weekend, everybody
will say, where's Mike Paulson.
I would say, honestly, I striveto become that person someday.
Jessi Woinarowicz (12:46):
What is something you think everyone
should do at least once in theirlife?
Tajae Viaene (12:52):
I would say the impact that that discovery
flight had on my self will besomething everybody should do.
It's a small commitment and asmall price for an incredible
experience.
And it can be done in theevening, city lights over Fargo.
You could do a sunset or sunriseplace seeing the world in a
(13:14):
different point of view.
So I'd say that's definitelysomething everybody should try.
One.
Jessi Woinarowicz (13:21):
Speaking of seeing the world in a different
point of view, you shared thatyou climbed Mount Kilimanjaro,
is that correct?
Can you share more about thatexperience?
Tajae Viaene (13:34):
So it's funny, but I never really had it on my
radar, but I had a friend whoasked me if I would climb it
with her.
And she asked me about sixmonths prior to the climb.
And I said, yeah, sure.
I'll climate with.
Yeah.
And then as it got closer andcloser, I realized that this was
really going to happen.
So we did it.
We went to Africa and climbedthe mountain and it was hard and
(13:59):
challenging.
And you change from going fromthe rain forest to basically
just rock, wind and climbingabove the clouds.
So you could look down and seethe clouds as you were climbing.
It was, it was incredible.
And it was certainly verytasking on your body and your
(14:22):
mental space.
And so it was very neat to seehow far you can push yourself
and reaching, reaching.
The top was pretty incredible.
Speaker 3 (14:33):
How long did that take you?
Tajae Viaene (14:35):
It took six days.
And because you have tobasically climb up slowly to a
climate, that's your blood andyour oxygen level can continue
climbing.
And it's really, I mean, it'sover 19,000 feet everyday.
You wake up and you hike hours,but in the end you get to just
climb a heck of a lot.
(14:58):
No, that was my first and onlyHills to practice on or even any
mountain, honestly, during thetime prior to going on this
mountain, I hiked up and downthe so that I could try out my
hiking shoes.
So that was my training wasliterally hiking up in town.
(15:21):
That's incredible.
It's funny where you neverreally know how your body's
going to react to that muchexertion and he didn't seem to
necessarily depend on how goodyou were or not.
And so everybody was climbingthe mountain, just doing the
best they could, but you havesuch a bond and a friendship
(15:42):
with those other people thatyou're climbing with over the
course of those days.
So everybody's taking care ofeverybody.
Speaker 3 (15:54):
Can you share a piece of advice you've learned thus
far in your journey?
Tajae Viaene (15:59):
I would say, well, I could probably give you a lot
of advice for one piece ofadvice that I should have taken
early on was to apply forscholarships.
There's a lot of free money outthere for people that are
interested in flight training.
And man, I wish I had done that,but, uh, one piece of advice
would be to sit down, writethose essays, take the time and
(16:22):
fill out a number ofscholarships because there's
help out there for people thatwant to be in the aviation
field, have an interest or wantto try it out.
Even there's money out therethat can be put towards trying
it out and moving forward withyour aviation career, much
faster.
Speaker 3 (16:40):
What's next on the horizon?
Tajae Viaene (16:42):
Well, like I said, I certainly am emulating Mike
Paulson and in that I want tobecome a designated pilot
examiner.
So I want to be able to do afinal check ride and it took me
years to earn enough flighthours to meet the requirements
to apply.
And I did that except the virushappened.
(17:03):
So right now we're just kind ofin a waiting period, as far as
when, or if I'll be selected todo the training for that.
But that is a huge goal for meand something I feel is very
important, not for my career,but also to be able to give back
to the flight school.
There's very few pilot examinersin each States.
(17:23):
I believe North Dakota probablyonly has four right now.
So it's a big goal.
It's going to take a lot of workand a lot of training, but it's
something that I definitely wantto see happen in the next few
years.
Jessi Woinarowicz (17:37):
So if someone was interested in doing a
discovery flight, should they goto the website and reach out
that way?
Tajae Viaene (17:43):
So we've got a contact form on the website that
they can fill out directly.
And then it sends an automaticemail us.
We also have all of our emailsand our cell phone numbers, even
on the website so they can reachout to any of us.
And then they can do a tour andcome out and learn more.
And that doesn't cost anything.
So there's no requirements forthat.
(18:04):
And the discovery flight is$149.
And the website is fargojet.com.
When you go to cargo jet.com,click on flight school, and
we've got all the information onthere as well.
Is there anything else you'dlike to add?
I know there's a lot of peoplethat are unsure about becoming a
(18:25):
pilot when they hear about whatairlines are going through right
now and the furloughs and thingsgoing on with the virus.
Although our school has neverbeen so busy.
So there's a ton of peopletaking advantage of this low and
they're taking advantage of theextra free time and career
change and going through otherpilots, time earnings, flight
(18:49):
hours, so that when airlines dopick up, then they're ready to
be hired.
Jessi Woinarowicz (18:55):
Tajae, I would love to spend their time
with a little lightning round ofquestions.
Coffee or tea?
Tajae Viaene (19:09):
I usually make a big pot of coffee and I hop into
an airplane after anotherairplane.
And by the end of the day, I'vehad people ask me, have you ever
landed in Morehead or Jamestown?
And I can usually tell them,yeah.
About 10 times today.
Jessi Woinarowicz (19:29):
What is your favorite dessert?
(19:31):
Oh gosh.
My favorite dessert lately hasbeen brownie.
I'm big on the brownies.
Jessi Woinarowicz (19:37):
Skiing or surfing?
Tajae Viaene (19:38):
Neither.
I'm a snowboarder.
Jessi Woinarowicz (19:43):
How do you manage your stress?
Tajae Viaene (19:46):
Gosh, I've got a St Bernard at home and it's so
much fun to just run around andplay with her and she's my dream
dog.
And so I play with mysynchronize.
Jessi Woinarowicz (19:58):
Where was the best vacation you've ever taken?
Tajae Viaene (20:03):
Was probably taking my son to Germany.
That was pretty incredible.
Jessi Woinarowicz (20:10):
Who impresses you?
Tajae Viaene (20:10):
I'm impressed by someone who isn't afraid to put
in the effort for something theywant.
I'm impressed by people who workhard, who have an interest in
learning.
And I absolutely will give myall to those people and help
them.
Jessi Woinarowicz (20:32):
And last one, climb a mountain or sky.
Tajae Viaene (20:38):
Well, since I've already done the mountain, I
actually would be interested inskydiving.
Jessi Woinarowicz (20:44):
Cool.
Have you sky dived?
Tajae Viaene (20:48):
Have never done it and I really should.
We've actually joked abouthaving all the flight
instructors do it together.
We all jumped out of anairplane.
That would be pretty neat.
Jessi Woinarowicz (20:59):
That would be very, very neat.
Thank you so much for coming onand sharing.
I really appreciate it.
Tajae Viaene (21:06):
I appreciate the time.
Jessi Woinarowicz (21:10):
Hey, thanks so much for listening in today.
If you would like to learn moreabout Tajae and the incredible
community members highlighted onthe show checkout,
glazeandgritpodcast.com.
Also, if you enjoyed thisepisode, please let us know by
subscribing, rating, andsharing.
It truly does help to amplifyour guest voices and their
(21:30):
journey.
Thanks again for listening.
I'm Jessi Woinarowicz, talk toyou soon.
Being able to see in an entirely different
viewpoint than you've ever had.
It was pretty incredible, butit's so neat to be able to
actually fly an airplane and tryit out.
Jessi Woinarowicz (00:32):
Glaze and Grit is a podcast where honest
and real conversations are frontand center.
A conversation where Fargo,Morehead, area, business owners,
thought leaders, advocates, andvisionaries share their lessons
learned and provide a freshperspective to better inform and
support you in your journey.
It's about sharing the realstory to inspire lead and
(00:54):
encourage.
All right here in my backyard ofFargo, North Dakota, it all
starts with a conversation, anhonest one I'm Jessi,
Woinarowicz, and this is Glazeand Grit.
It was such a privilege toconnect with my next guest,
continuing the uncharted themefor season two, I sat down via
(01:16):
zoom with Tajae, the chiefflight instructor at the Fargo
Jet Center.
We discussed the moment thatchanged the trajectory of her
career and led her to fulfillingher passion of flying and
teaching the next generation ofpilots and flight instructors.
What spoke to me in ourconversation is her drive,
determination, and focus toachieve her goals and help
(01:40):
others achieve theirs, not onlyin the air, but the impact you
can make every day.
Thank you again for being on.
I really appreciate it.
Tajae Viaene (01:53):
And I'm looking forward to our conversation.
Jessi Woinarowicz (01:58):
You attended North Dakota state university
and earned your degree inbiochemistry.
However, there was a pivot inyour future.
Tajae Viaene (02:09):
I didn't grow up with my family, so it certainly
wasn't in my radar as a careeruntil I was a junior in college,
certainly science, centralizedflying and get my private pilot.
(03:01):
Um, so that's the firstcertificate you earned prior to
further training?
As I was finishing my degree atNDSU, I was also continuing like
training lessons and finished myprivate pilot.
And then I had this grand idea,which sounds a little crazy
thinking back, but I did it andI was flying all over, having a
(03:25):
blast.
And I, I began to think, youknow, this is getting really
expensive.
I should probably figure outwhat to do with my life.
Every time I thought of a careeroption with my degree, it all
had to be in relation to makingenough money so I could continue
flying.
And then I had this great ideawhy don't I just fly and get
(03:46):
paid for it?
So when I kind of came to thatconclusion, I started getting
more serious about my careerplans and how I was going to
achieve those goals.
I certainly wasn't getting moneyfrom family or relatives.
So I needed to kind of figureout how to do that financially
as well.
I just had to make the decision.
Was I going to go with anaviation path or was I going to
(04:07):
go with a biochemistry scienceindustry or, or, um, medical
school path?
And I chose, I wanted to fly.
It was a heck of a lot of fun.
And the best option for me wasto get a job.
And I started in customerservice.
So the time that I worked at theJet Center, I was surrounded by
airplanes and pilots, justbuilding up relationships with
(04:30):
the company, but also how it'sin their area, learning
familiarizing with otherairplanes.
And then that's when I did allthe rest of my flight training
and then came over to the flightschool.
Honestly, I was absolutelyastonished that in a very first
flight in a little airplane, theinstructor is able to let you
(04:52):
hold the control, handle thecontrol, fly the airplane.
And once you get off the ground,being able to see the city, the
lights, the sky in an entirelydifferent viewpoint than you've
ever had.
It was pretty incredible.
This discovery flight itself isjust a little under an hour, but
it's so neat to be able toactually fly an airplane and try
(05:13):
it out.
So yeah, that's kind of that gotme hooked and then fast forward
to now being the chief flightinstructor.
Jessi Woinarowicz (05:24):
Can you share that journey to get to where
you're at right now?
Tajae Viaene (05:31):
I s uppose it's probably been six or seven years
later.
And in next time I've held manypositions at the school a nd
Mike Paulson, my supervisor nowh e's j ust very driven and goal
oriented.
When I came onto the flightschool, I was a flight
instructor and I was kind oflearning the ropes, learning how
to instruct and teach others.
And then I became a lead flightinstructor.
(05:53):
So it allows you to more so be amentor to other instructors,
kind of help them if they werejust starting out after the lead
flight instructor, I became theassistant chief flight
instructor, and now I'm thechief.
So basically working throughearning experience and flight
hours, uh, myself, as well asgetting to the point where, I
(06:15):
mean, in the beginning, you haveto learn how to lead.
And I've trained in now.
So many point instructors I'vemade all the mistakes that
they're starting to make, and Ican certainly help them up and
guide them.
It has been a journey, but ithas been a lot of fun.
And I get to wake up in themorning and come out here and
(06:36):
help people achieve their dream,which is pretty darn cool.
Jessi Woinarowicz (06:39):
So neat.
Is there anything that you'dlike to share or lessons learned
for, uh, for people looking intothe aviation?
Tajae Viaene (06:48):
Yeah, I'd say time management is huge and not only
for each of our instructors, butalso for myself.
When I started at the flightschool, we had three, one Cessna
and one other larger plane, andnow we have four, one Cessna72,
we have two archers, we've got aone 82 and a Cirrus and another
(07:09):
one on the way you get my drift.
Um, it has been a lot of workand I'm not afraid of work, but
it takes time management andorganization to be able to
manage not only that manyaircraft and scheduling and
maintenance, but also theinstructors.
Now we have, we have over eightinstructors.
(07:30):
That's the biggest team we'veever had.
So I'd say lesson learnedlessons learned would certainly
come along with just trying todeal with scheduling and staying
ahead of the game.
As far as upcoming meetings andstudents come into play with all
that, it's been almost like I'vegotten to grow with the school,
(07:50):
which is pretty neat.
Honestly, I would say my mom,she just worked herself up the
corporate ladder, just with acosmetology license.
She ended up as the VP ofL'Oreal in the end.
Now she's got her own businessand is working through that.
(08:13):
So I would say honestly, Istopped so much derive and was
surrounded by that being mymother worked through that even
just as a female in the pilotworld, it still needs to step
out of a twin engine, plane witha student that is a male.
And, uh, still the line guys,when they want to feel up the
plane, they'll ask that studentshow much fuel we need and the
(08:36):
student will just look confusedand then point to me and say,
Oh, I don't know.
She knows.
And it's such a privilege.
And an honor to just be, be theone that, that has needed this
car and get to call myself apilot, but also a leader and
kind of go like that.
Jessi Woinarowicz (08:54):
I love it.
That's A perfect segue to mynext question.
A key component for young girlsto be able to see themselves as
a pilot or work in aviation isfor them to see women in those
positions as the number of womeninvolved in the aviation
industry has increased.
The number is still very smallwith women pilots representing
(09:15):
only 6% of the total pilotpopulation.
Can you speak to yourexperiences of being a woman in
a male dominated field and whatwe can do as a society to help
girls and women be morerepresented in aviation?
Tajae Viaene (09:28):
The biggest thing that I've seen is that honestly
rolling up in, through initialcosts, even elementary school
and high school, as far aslooking at career options, we're
not even exposing the youngwomen to this option as much as
we could.
And every time I get a femaleask about flight training or a
(09:49):
high school student that asksabout what their options are, I
it's important that they get tosee another female in a role
like this, but man, we've got it.
We've got to reach out to morehigh schools and get those kids
out for more tours, moreexposure, to hear the airplanes,
to see all the career options inaviation.
So that those females actuallythink about this as a real
(10:13):
choice.
And then as far as that goes,once they actually see this as a
choice, there are scholarshipsout there there's many things
that are out there gearedtowards helping youngs get to
that next step.
So there's some good things outthere.
And I've had a very positiveexperience as a female in
aviation,
Jessi Woinarowicz (10:33):
Wonderful visibility and representation
are just so powerful.
If someone wants to learn moreabout getting their pilot
certification, what should theyconsider?
And then the steps.
Tajae Viaene (10:45):
So the first thing that we recommend is that that
person come in for a one-on-onetour that allows them to see our
aircraft make decisions as faras which aircraft would meet
their needs.
It would allow them to basicallymeet with one-on-one with an
instructor and kind of get toknow each other, talk about the
pricing, how they would pay andgo about plate training, and
(11:07):
then also determine what kind ofschedule they're looking for.
Someone could decide to fly oncea week for the over a course of
six months and get acertificate, or maybe they've
got a lot of free time and theywant to fly every day for a
month and get a certificate.
The nice thing about our schoolis that we do online.
We call it ground training, butknowledge about aviation and
(11:29):
airspace and airplane.
And then we bring this intogether with one-on-one flight
lessons.
So someone can have a full-timejob or a career already, and
basically do their flying in themorning, evenings, weekends
surrounding their career.
Speaker 3 (11:44):
Nice Tajae who inspires you?
Tajae Viaene (11:48):
I would have to say, I have certainly emulated a
lot of the steps and careerchoices that I've made around.
Mike.
He's been doing this a heck of alot longer than me, and he's got
a lot more gray hair than I do.
He has a way about himself wherehe can be ahead of the game.
As far as safety is concerned,as far as taking care of
(12:12):
customers is concerned.
And one thing that's sointeresting that he can teach
someone a complex topic and sayit in the simplest manner so
that they can grasp that topic.
And I'm still striving to meetthat.
But yeah, he's kind of a staplearound here as far as the pilot
(12:33):
community goes.
And whenever we go to pay aclient on a weekend, everybody
will say, where's Mike Paulson.
I would say, honestly, I striveto become that person someday.
Jessi Woinarowicz (12:46):
What is something you think everyone
should do at least once in theirlife?
Tajae Viaene (12:52):
I would say the impact that that discovery
flight had on my self will besomething everybody should do.
It's a small commitment and asmall price for an incredible
experience.
And it can be done in theevening, city lights over Fargo.
You could do a sunset or sunriseplace seeing the world in a
(13:14):
different point of view.
So I'd say that's definitelysomething everybody should try.
One.
Jessi Woinarowicz (13:21):
Speaking of seeing the world in a different
point of view, you shared thatyou climbed Mount Kilimanjaro,
is that correct?
Can you share more about thatexperience?
Tajae Viaene (13:34):
So it's funny, but I never really had it on my
radar, but I had a friend whoasked me if I would climb it
with her.
And she asked me about sixmonths prior to the climb.
And I said, yeah, sure.
I'll climate with.
Yeah.
And then as it got closer andcloser, I realized that this was
really going to happen.
So we did it.
We went to Africa and climbedthe mountain and it was hard and
(13:59):
challenging.
And you change from going fromthe rain forest to basically
just rock, wind and climbingabove the clouds.
So you could look down and seethe clouds as you were climbing.
It was, it was incredible.
And it was certainly verytasking on your body and your
(14:22):
mental space.
And so it was very neat to seehow far you can push yourself
and reaching, reaching.
The top was pretty incredible.
Speaker 3 (14:33):
How long did that take you?
Tajae Viaene (14:35):
It took six days.
And because you have tobasically climb up slowly to a
climate, that's your blood andyour oxygen level can continue
climbing.
And it's really, I mean, it'sover 19,000 feet everyday.
You wake up and you hike hours,but in the end you get to just
climb a heck of a lot.
(14:58):
No, that was my first and onlyHills to practice on or even any
mountain, honestly, during thetime prior to going on this
mountain, I hiked up and downthe so that I could try out my
hiking shoes.
So that was my training wasliterally hiking up in town.
(15:21):
That's incredible.
It's funny where you neverreally know how your body's
going to react to that muchexertion and he didn't seem to
necessarily depend on how goodyou were or not.
And so everybody was climbingthe mountain, just doing the
best they could, but you havesuch a bond and a friendship
(15:42):
with those other people thatyou're climbing with over the
course of those days.
So everybody's taking care ofeverybody.
Speaker 3 (15:54):
Can you share a piece of advice you've learned thus
far in your journey?
Tajae Viaene (15:59):
I would say, well, I could probably give you a lot
of advice for one piece ofadvice that I should have taken
early on was to apply forscholarships.
There's a lot of free money outthere for people that are
interested in flight training.
And man, I wish I had done that,but, uh, one piece of advice
would be to sit down, writethose essays, take the time and
(16:22):
fill out a number ofscholarships because there's
help out there for people thatwant to be in the aviation
field, have an interest or wantto try it out.
Even there's money out therethat can be put towards trying
it out and moving forward withyour aviation career, much
faster.
Speaker 3 (16:40):
What's next on the horizon?
Tajae Viaene (16:42):
Well, like I said, I certainly am emulating Mike
Paulson and in that I want tobecome a designated pilot
examiner.
So I want to be able to do afinal check ride and it took me
years to earn enough flighthours to meet the requirements
to apply.
And I did that except the virushappened.
(17:03):
So right now we're just kind ofin a waiting period, as far as
when, or if I'll be selected todo the training for that.
But that is a huge goal for meand something I feel is very
important, not for my career,but also to be able to give back
to the flight school.
There's very few pilot examinersin each States.
(17:23):
I believe North Dakota probablyonly has four right now.
So it's a big goal.
It's going to take a lot of workand a lot of training, but it's
something that I definitely wantto see happen in the next few
years.
Jessi Woinarowicz (17:37):
So if someone was interested in doing a
discovery flight, should they goto the website and reach out
that way?
Tajae Viaene (17:43):
So we've got a contact form on the website that
they can fill out directly.
And then it sends an automaticemail us.
We also have all of our emailsand our cell phone numbers, even
on the website so they can reachout to any of us.
And then they can do a tour andcome out and learn more.
And that doesn't cost anything.
So there's no requirements forthat.
(18:04):
And the discovery flight is$149.
And the website is fargojet.com.
When you go to cargo jet.com,click on flight school, and
we've got all the information onthere as well.
Is there anything else you'dlike to add?
I know there's a lot of peoplethat are unsure about becoming a
(18:25):
pilot when they hear about whatairlines are going through right
now and the furloughs and thingsgoing on with the virus.
Although our school has neverbeen so busy.
So there's a ton of peopletaking advantage of this low and
they're taking advantage of theextra free time and career
change and going through otherpilots, time earnings, flight
(18:49):
hours, so that when airlines dopick up, then they're ready to
be hired.
Jessi Woinarowicz (18:55):
Tajae, I would love to spend their time
with a little lightning round ofquestions.
Coffee or tea?
Tajae Viaene (19:09):
I usually make a big pot of coffee and I hop into
an airplane after anotherairplane.
And by the end of the day, I'vehad people ask me, have you ever
landed in Morehead or Jamestown?
And I can usually tell them,yeah.
About 10 times today.
Jessi Woinarowicz (19:29):
What is your favorite dessert?
(19:31):
Oh gosh.
My favorite dessert lately hasbeen brownie.
I'm big on the brownies.
Jessi Woinarowicz (19:37):
Skiing or surfing?
Tajae Viaene (19:38):
Neither.
I'm a snowboarder.
Jessi Woinarowicz (19:43):
How do you manage your stress?
Tajae Viaene (19:46):
Gosh, I've got a St Bernard at home and it's so
much fun to just run around andplay with her and she's my dream
dog.
And so I play with mysynchronize.
Jessi Woinarowicz (19:58):
Where was the best vacation you've ever taken?
Tajae Viaene (20:03):
Was probably taking my son to Germany.
That was pretty incredible.
Jessi Woinarowicz (20:10):
Who impresses you?
Tajae Viaene (20:10):
I'm impressed by someone who isn't afraid to put
in the effort for something theywant.
I'm impressed by people who workhard, who have an interest in
learning.
And I absolutely will give myall to those people and help
them.
Jessi Woinarowicz (20:32):
And last one, climb a mountain or sky.
Tajae Viaene (20:38):
Well, since I've already done the mountain, I
actually would be interested inskydiving.
Jessi Woinarowicz (20:44):
Cool.
Have you sky dived?
Tajae Viaene (20:48):
Have never done it and I really should.
We've actually joked abouthaving all the flight
instructors do it together.
We all jumped out of anairplane.
That would be pretty neat.
Jessi Woinarowicz (20:59):
That would be very, very neat.
Thank you so much for coming onand sharing.
I really appreciate it.
Tajae Viaene (21:06):
I appreciate the time.
Jessi Woinarowicz (21:10):
Hey, thanks so much for listening in today.
If you would like to learn moreabout Tajae and the incredible
community members highlighted onthe show checkout,
glazeandgritpodcast.com.
Also, if you enjoyed thisepisode, please let us know by
subscribing, rating, andsharing.
It truly does help to amplifyour guest voices and their
(21:30):
journey.
Thanks again for listening.
I'm Jessi Woinarowicz, talk toyou soon.
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