At 17-years-old, San Luis Obispo's Piper Banys has high aspirations as a future pilot in the Air Force.
“It's exciting. It's nervous. It's going to be a huge life change, but I’m definitely excited,” Banys explained of her acceptance to the prestigious military institute.
With offers from other aviation schools, Banys chose an aviation path with the Air Force Academy. After a nomination and arduous application process, Banys was accepted. Now, her parents Chris and Bambi are still coming to terms with the reality that their oldest child is literally flying the coop.
“For me, the biggest challenge is knowing that, unlike traditional college, when she leaves our house in three-plus weeks, she's out of our house forever,” Bambi Banys, Piper's mother, said.
“Letting my baby girl go is tough, but she's also going to realize the dream which is amazing,” Chris Banys, Piper's father, added.
It's a dream she’s had for as long as she can remember — maybe even before she could remember. According to her parents, at less than a week old, her father, who is also a pilot, took her up to avoid the heat.
“I've been flying with my dad all the time, and so there was never a period where I wasn't flying,” Piper says.
Throughout her life, Banys has reached milestone after milestone earning scholarships from local organizations such as the San Luis Obispo Chapter of the 99s Women's Pilot organization and a Ray Aviation Scholarship from EAA Chapter 465.
When she was 14, she completed her inaugural solo flight in a glider with the Central Coast Soaring Association.
“The top plane flies away and you slow down and it's completely quiet and you're just floating. It's like the coolest feeling in the world,” she says.
On her 16th birthday, she went solo in her first powered aircraft.
“I have a couple seconds of just, wow, this is awesome and then look, okay, now I have to focus and figure out how I'm going to land and how I'm going to get on the ground safely.”
As Piper gets ready for the Air Force Academy over these next few weeks, she shared with me what it takes to be an exemplary pilot: “You have to be focused and calm under pressure. You have to be able to persevere.”
Those skills will also serve her well in the Air Force.
“I think she is perfectly suited to this endeavor," Bambi says.
Banys leaves for the Air Force Academy on June 23.
