{"id":28245,"date":"2024-03-28T14:07:14","date_gmt":"2024-03-28T14:07:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saj.pachecostudios.com?p=28245"},"modified":"2024-03-28T14:10:07","modified_gmt":"2024-03-28T14:10:07","slug":"from-corporate-pilot-to-flying-warbirds-ashley-shelton-has-the-best-job-in-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/national-news\/from-corporate-pilot-to-flying-warbirds-ashley-shelton-has-the-best-job-in-the-world\/%20","title":{"rendered":"From Corporate Pilot to Flying Warbirds, Ashley Shelton Has the “Best Job in the World”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Photo above –<\/em> Ashley Shelton – “wing walking has provided the greatest thrill.”  Ashley is on the wing of a 1943 Boeing Super Stearman<\/em> (PT-17), owned by Ashley and her husband.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether it\u2019s flying corporate jets or warbirds, Ashley\nShelton says she has the best job in the world. The young aviatrix has immersed\nherself in aviation, flying a variety of aircraft and on top of that, for those\nof you who attend air shows, you might even get the chance to see her\nperforming as a wing walker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ashley Shelton<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard to describe the exact feeling of flying an\nairplane or wing walking, for that matter,\u201d says Ashley. \u201cThe best way to\ndescribe the feeling is that of pure thrill and excitement.\u201d Ashley says that\nbeing the sole pilot on board can be even more rewarding. \u201cRecognizing that all\nthe hard work and training has paid off and knowing you have the best job in\nthe world is quite satisfying.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Along with her husband, Ashley is a warbird enthusiast, with\na collection of seven airplanes kept at their home, including a 1944 Grumman\nFM-2 Wildcat. In 2019, she became a member of the Commemorative Air Force and\nwas selected to be a co-pilot on the 1944 North American B-25 \u201cMitchell\u201d bomber\n\u2013 \u201cDevil Dog\u201d. Since then, she has accrued more than 150 flight hours in the\nB-25 and joined the world\u2019s only all-female B-25 Mitchell crew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ashley Shelton with an Airshare Phenom 300. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Since 2022, Ashley has been flying the Phenom 300 as a pilot\nfor Airshare, where she is working toward upgrading to captain. Airshare pilots\noffer best-in-class luxury and safety for their customers throughout the\ncompany\u2019s suite of private aviation services, including its fractional\nownership program, which includes a fleet of Phenom 300 and Challenger 3500\naircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ashley\u2019s interest in aviation began at a very early age. \u201cMy\ndad would take me to hobby shops and let me pick out model airplanes for us to\nbuild together,\u201d said Ashley. \u201cWe even flew some of the gliders we built.\u201d\nAshley and her father did that for many years. Her grandfather, a Navy veteran,\nalso took her to aviation museums and local airports to watch airplanes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy interest grew even stronger as I got older,\u201d said\nAshley. \u201cI ended up joining the Air Force to be an air traffic controller. A\nminor injury in basic training prevented that from happening, so I pursued a\ndegree in air traffic control and graduated with an associate degree in 2012.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For other young women interested in a career in aviation,\nAshley\u2019s advice is “to go after your dreams with passion and\ndetermination.” If they\u2019re interested in becoming a pilot, Ashley’s\nsuggestion is to research local flying clubs or organizations promoting women\nin aviation (Women in Aviation International, The Ninety-Nines, EAA Young\nEagles, Civil Air Patrol). \u201cThose groups are a great way to make long lasting\nconnections and a way to apply for flight training scholarships.\u201d If not\ninterested in becoming a pilot, Ashely encourages girls and young women to take\nclasses in school that will prepare them for a technical job in the aviation\nindustry. \u201cOr even pursuing internships at local airports is a great way to get\ntheir foot in the door,\u201d added Ashley. There are so many opportunities in this\nfield that need more women in the industry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Airshare<\/a>, a private aviation company offering aircraft management, fractional ownership, EMBARK Jet Cards and charter services, is shining a spotlight on their incredible female teammates this month. The company believes flying private should be safe, simple and designed specifically to your needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat fires me up each day at Airshare is not really knowing\nwhere I\u2019ll end up flying during the days I\u2019m on duty,\u201d says Ashley. \u201cIt brings\na great sense of adventure to be able to fly into places even the airlines\ndon\u2019t fly into\u201c\u2026 such as small uncontrolled airports in some of the most\nbeautiful places in the country. I love that feeling!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

For Ashley, it\u2019s hard to have a favorite airplane as each\nbrings a different type of experience. \u201cI love flying my J-3 Cub, but I also\nlove flying my North American AT-6 Texan. The AT-6 is the most challenging of\nall the airplanes I\u2019ve flown thus far. There\u2019s a reason they call it \u201cthe pilot\nmaker\u201d. But overall, I really enjoy flying the North American B-25 bomber,\u201d\nsaid Ashley. \u201cIt\u2019s not just about flying a heavy WW2 bomber, it\u2019s about the\ncamaraderie of flying with a great crew that makes it the most special.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Long term, one goal for Ashley is to fly wide body aircraft\non international flights to Europe and Asia. \u201cThe excitement that would bring\nappeals to my sense of adventure and love for travel.\u201d However, if she had to\nnarrow down a choice to one aircraft that she hasn\u2019t had the opportunity to fly\nyet, it would be the Boeing B-29 Super Fortress (WW2 bomber). \u201cThere are only\ntwo B-29s flying in the world currently and I would love to one day get that\nopportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though at home in the cockpit, Ashley loves wing walking and\nthat has provided her the greatest thrill of all her experiences in, or outside\nan airplane. \u201cYou have the best seat in the house, especially at air shows.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photo above – Ashley Shelton – “wing walking has provided the greatest thrill.”  Ashley is on the wing of a 1943 Boeing Super Stearman (PT-17), owned by Ashley and her husband. Whether it\u2019s flying corporate jets or warbirds, Ashley Shelton says she has the best job in the world. The young aviatrix has immersed herself in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":28252,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[116,115],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-front-page-slider","category-national-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Ashley-Shelton-2-edit.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28245"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28245\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28253,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28245\/revisions\/28253"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}