June 2019 Student of the Month
Meet Maria Ibragimova, age 43, from Russia.
Maria chose Mauna Loa Helicopters over other flight schools due to the F1 privilege and an environment where I can fly all through the year regardless of seasons. When asked at what point did Maria know she wanted to fly helicopters, Maria simply replied: “The first time I started considering it was about 10 years ago.” Her training goals are to one day fly EMS, Search & Rescue/ Mountains.”
Maria shared with us a few obstacles she experiences while being a student, “Regular (and expected) question of financing the training. Scheduling- I lived and worked in Europe and Asia while I was going through my training, and had to organize my schedule in such a way that would allow me to take blocks of time to continue my training while I contained in a full-time job elsewhere. I also had to find a way to maintain my flight skills in the areas that I worked and find other schools to continue flying between my training periods related to licenses and ratings.”
Advice Maria said she would share with prospective students and students just starting out in their training is” Be ready to commit to an extended period of training and keep working to move it forward – your initiative and drive would strongly affect the progress (as well as the time needed to complete). Stay optimistic (don’t get discouraged) when the learning slows down or gets delayed. And think ahead and plan financing (to the best of your ability-somethings are hard to predict).”
While in Hawaii Maria said her favorite experience has been the general positive and open atmosphere at the school, and “sharing experience of working on the licenses together/along with the other students working on the same goals. As well as interacting with my instructor.” Flying in Hawaii and MLH Maria stated “The area is amazing- geographical features, natural beauty, weather; the school environment is positive, and the team is friendly and competent; everything is easily accessible on the airport, and training areas are close.
Thank you Maria for sharing with us! Keep up the good work, and congratulations.