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2022: Lesson Learnt

by Jennifer Yhaye

2022: Lesson Learnt
The lessons I have learnt in 2022 as a Gen z Pilot

Hello everyone! I hope this heartfelt letter finds you well. If you’ve made it this far into 2022, give yourself a pat on the shoulder because what a year! Just when some of us were finding our balance, the planet is in economical shambles but that’s a topic for another day.

On the first Sunday of November, I was having brunch with my best friends, and one of them basically called me a fraud for getting them hooked with my blog during lockdown and ghosting the site afterwards. So, this is me proving to her that I
still got it. Even though the truth is, I have been writing even more now than before, but just didn’t feel the urge to post it on here. And it has nothing to do with the fact that I may or may not have forgotten my username and password …

Let’s dive right in.

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My two cents

WHY DID I GIVE UP BECOMING A PILOT ?

by Jennifer Yhaye

I just took a break from an intensive study session: It’s all so much information! And I am laughing at myself for the life I chose. As the west-African expression says “Who sent me message?”

It is however in these candid moments that I reflect the most on my career path.

To think that, had I listened to most people, I’d be standing in front of my mirror asking myself “Why did I give up becoming a pilot ?”

From the silent nights with tears flowing down my astigmatic eyes pondering on discouraging statements like “You can’t become a pilot; you wear glasses” or infuriating comments like “you did not get an A in your Physics A-levels, how do you think you can survive flight school ?”, I’m glad I did not take anybody’s advice. It surely was God’s way to guard my heart and save my dream.

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My two cents

Is this truly the worst time to become a pilot ?

by Jennifer Yhaye

You may have watched or read here and there that the aviation industry is undergoing some significant economic tensions.
[Check my last article on the subject if not]

For a regular passenger, it may sound like it could all be fixed once borders worldwide finally open, however, aviation enthusiasts around the world may be faced with deeper concerns such as, “Is this the right time to be/become a pilot ?”

Let me be straightforward and answer: No, it is not. In fact, it is not the right time to be anything that requires you to be exposed to the Coronavirus at the moment. [in times like these, I wish remote/self-flying airplanes for commercial operation was not just a utopian foreshadowing for the next century]

On the other hand, let’s look at another aspect of the matter: “Is this the worst time to become a pilot ?”

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THE DAY MY COUNTRY HONOURED ME

by Jennifer Yhaye

(3 mins read)

It all began with 5 missed calls from a private number. I was in between two flights and I did not pay much attention to them. (I rarely take calls when I’m at work, plus it was a private number. Creep!)

I took-off from Lomé, and landed in Abidjan an hour later for a night stop.

My ritual whenever I am in my hometown, is to meet my dad for lunch and dessert, then visit my grandmother if I get enough time, and back to my hotel room.

When Papa came to pick me up this time around, he said “The president is looking for you“ I was like “HUH ?..”.

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Being a lover and a killer of Nature: covid-19 and the earth

by Jennifer Yhaye

COVID-19 AND THE EARTH
(3 mins read)

If you’re active on social media, you may have come across the sentence “We are the problem” as a conclusion to how good Mother Earth is doing right now.
We’ve heard of blue skies and starry nights in Beijing, turquoise blue water on the West-African coast, or dolphins and swans idling in the usually busy waters of Venice.
I don’t know about you but reading these made me ecstatic! Not the part where I’m being called the problem of course, but the idea that the planet can regenerate itself without our input as humans.
Which means that if the various Global Warming Congress held yearly all over the world never amount to any tangible change in the life condition we have created for ourselves, we can surely count on Mother Nature to force us to sit at home, as she fixes what needs to be fixed. Now I don’t know if we can survive another global pandemic in this lifetime…

Let’s look at a couple facts and figures on the impact of the infamous COVID-19 on the environment.
A recent study by the Global Carbon Project observed a 17% reduction of Carbon Dioxide worldwide, becoming the biggest drop in CO2 emission since World War II
(Bill Gates surely knew what he was talking about when assimilating this disease to a world war, but that’s a topic for another day)
NASA also reports a Nitrogen Dioxide(NO2) reduction by 30%.

Other benefits of the lockdown include the increase of the Fish biomass as a result of a decline in fishing; animals in danger of extinction like Sea turtles returning to areas they once avoided, to lay eggs; and simply trees growing better and fuller, due to the improved air and water quality.

To say the least, this season has taught me that as we fight nature, she will fight us back and probably will win because she is way stronger than we are.
So what can we do ? Love her. Quit the polluting habits, plant trees, explore farming, improve our cars and airplanes’ maintenance, launch development plans that involve solar panels, and environmental projects to safeguard wildlife.
As Life gradually gets back to “normal”, may this amplified awareness be our new normal.

Lexical: Nitrogen Dioxide: NO2 is a highly reactive pollutant emitted mainly from the combustion of fossil fuels. Traffic pollution is considered as the major source of NO2 emissions. NO2 is considered highly lethal to human health as studies show that both short term and long term exposure to NO2 can increase mortality rate. NO2 can cause respiratory problems and annually, 4.6 million people die worldwide due to the poor air quality it creates.

Sources

https://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/environment-and-health/pages/news/news/2020/6/protecting-nature-protects-health-lessons-for-the-future-from-covid-19

 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.india.com/festivals-events/world-environment-day-2020-positive-impact-of-covid-19-lockdown-on-environment-4047703/amp/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969720323378

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Will the Aviation Industry Survive?

by Jennifer Yhaye

(3 mins read)

A question I have asked myself from the day I last stepped into an airplane.
Yet in my mind, it would be just a couple weeks off and we’d be back in the game.
Well, it’s been ‘4 months since March 23rd and the questions keep rising.
-When will we fly again?
-How many more jobs lost?
-When things go back to normal, who will fly these airplanes on the ground?
-Meanwhile, is maintenance done regularly?
-When will my next vacation be? (Because somehow, COVID-19 has stripped some of us of our annual leave bank.)
-The recycling of all this idling labour force
-the cost of COVID-19 preventive measures
-the mental state of [ex] employees who have seen their lives being rated as liabilities to a company they vowed to
-the plausible yet unlikely expansion of fleets all over the world.
The last time the situation was this critical was during 9/11 [to give you some perspective]
Now, where does the growth of my career fit in ? Some pilots were this close from an upgrade. Some had side businesses about to launch
and some, if not all of us, just really miss flying!

(more…)
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