Growing up, Naperville resident Adeline O’Neill loved going to the airport, taking in all the hustle and bustle, and watching planes take off, but one thing regularly stood out: she rarely saw any female pilots.
O’Neill’s interest in planes grew, but she could never see herself in the cockpit, not until her junior year of high school at Naperville Central.
“When I was applying for colleges, where I wanted to go and what I wanted to major in, aviation kept coming back to me. And that was something that I kept thinking about,” she said.
The then 16-year-old took a discovery flight at Clow International Airport in Bolingbrook, Illinois, that ignited a passion for aviation, setting her on a journey to become a commercial pilot.
“Normally…they take multiple kids up at a time, but since they knew that I was here for career purposes, they actually let me go up with a pilot, one-on-one. And he actually allowed me to take controls for a little bit. I remember not being nervous or scared at all when I was in the air, and I just loved it. So I knew I wanted to start training right away,” said O’Neill.
O’Neill secures private pilot’s license
With the support of her family, she began taking flight lessons at the airport’s JW Aviation Flight School toward the end of her junior year.
By her senior year, she was flying twice a week to fine-tune her skills and earn her private pilot’s license.
“I started flying basically as often as I could because, leading up to your checkride, you want to get as much experience in flight in before you take the test,” said O’Neill.
After a year of training and studying, it was time for her checkride, which would determine whether she would receive her license. As she flew, her family watched from the airport’s restaurant, Charlie’s, and experienced a pivotal moment.
“My grandpa told me that when I was in the air, there were two little girls sitting in Charlie’s, and they were asking their parents, ‘How come there are no female pilots? How come there are no girls getting out of the planes?’ And my mom said to them, ‘Just wait, my daughter, she’s about to get out of her plane. She’s taking her check ride,’” said O’Neill.
When O’Neill landed and exited the plane, the girls cheered her on.
“It made me really happy because I just remember when I was younger, I wished that I had more representation of women in aviation that could have inspired it from a younger age to start my training or start looking into it more,” she said.
O’Neill earned her private pilot’s license that day, allowing her to fly for leisure and putting her one step closer to achieving her goals.
“It still feels unreal that I can just go up in a plane whenever I want. And I still have so much work to do, but I’m really proud of myself,” she said.
Teen heads to Western Michigan University
This fall, she begins her freshman year at Western Michigan University, majoring in aviation flight science.
She was awarded scholarships to support her education, including a $13,000 scholarship from the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.
As she works toward becoming a pilot, she says she hopes to inspire other young girls to make their dreams take flight.
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