A lover of aviation and space flight, 10-year-old aviatrix Gwen Ackerman has already built an impressive list of extraordinary experiences: flying lessons, water rescue drills, NASA Space Camp, Air Force Camp, and outer space flying simulations.
Obtaining her private pilot’s license is next. And is six years away. But that’s not slowing her down.
Gwen sat for a recent interview along with her parents, Jessica and Joseph, at their business, Sidetracked Brewery on S. Green Street in Morganton. Gwen has long straight brown hair with blue eyes. She arrived at her interview wearing an aviation camp T-shirt and a big smile as she talked about who she is and what she loves to do.
“I’m Gwen, I like pizza and I fly airplanes,” she said, overcoming an initial bout of nervousness. “Well, I love to fly airplanes. I flew in a helicopter. I went to an aviation camp. Last week I went to space camp. It was very fun and I liked it.”
She attends Christ Classical Academy (CCA) in Rutherford College and is going into the fifth-grade. In addition to aviation, she loves to dance with the Southern Swag Dance Academy and has done a singing solo for her school.
With her family, she attended a hot air balloon festival where she soared in the basket hanging beneath the colorful envelope of heated air.
Gwen has loved outer space since she was three years old. Her favorite planet is Saturn. Her mother, Jessica, spoke proudly of when she dressed up as Saturn for Halloween one year.
“It’s probably because of the rings,” Gwen said. “I know they are made of all the space junk. Space junk is the asteroids and maybe a couple of pieces of moons that used to be.”
Along with outer space, Gwen loves all things aviation. She has a picture on her wall over her bed that says “Aviatrix” which means a female pilot.
Good pilots plan ahead, and Gwen is planning for an adult life airborne. “I’m just gonna travel…Just flying to different places,” she said.
Her dreams of flying were realized thanks to her good friend, Raymond Robinson. As a regular customer of Sidetracked Brewery, Robinson got to know the Ackermans and their four children.
Mom Jessica described him as a grumpy individual who grew to love her kids. To her, he seems like the character Otto Anderson from the new Tom Hanks movie “A Man Called Otto.”
Over time, Robinson has grown closer and closer to the Ackerman family and is now called “Grumpa.”
Gwen would tell Robinson her plans of flying and traveling, but it would be Robinson and another family friend, Clint Johnson, who would make her dreams come true by paying for her aviation adventures.
Once he realized how passionate this 10-year-old was for flying, Robinson booked her the first plane ride and arranged for space and aviation camps.
Aviation camp and beyond!
In June 2022, Gwen went to a week-long aviation camp in the U.S. Space and Rocket Center through NASA in Huntersville, Ala., to learn about flying, cooperation, and to experience simulations a pilot would face.
“I wasn’t told about it. I was only told about it the day before we left. I’m just glad they didn’t tell me way before because then I’d get way too excited.” Gwen said. Robinson had handled all of the application process and costs.
“I learned how to fly, take off, and land a jet. Well, it was a jet simulator but it’s very identical. That’s what my dad says,” said Gwen. Joseph explained that this is how people in training learn how to fly airplanes through these simulations.
Gwen also has been part of an airlift rescue through the aviation camp.
Gwen explained that they started in a basket that is slowly lowered into the water. They had to swim away towards the middle of the lake to then get into the basket as part of the rescue. The exercise demonstrates one of the missions a pilot might have to face. It taught her water-based survival skills and how an airlift water rescue is performed.
After the fun of the aviation camp, Gwen went to a space camp earlier this summer where she experienced space simulations.
Like the aviation camp, the space camp is sponsored by NASA in the same place. During her time there, she participated in different activities that helped her train to be a young astronaut.
“She built a rocket with her team and they had a launch day where the campers launched their rockets. Gwen was the one that got to hit the button,” Jessica said. “It was a successful flight! She got to work in Mission Control on a simulated space launch and return, which was also successful.”
She learned about different technologies that are used during a mission and even competed challenges with other campers.
She had a lot of fun and made a new pen-pal friend through the program.
To the skies!
On Aug. 28, 2021, thanks to Robinson’s support, Gwen traveled to the Foothills Regional Airport for a Discovery Flight with Certified Flight Instructor Jamie Maiella, owner of Mike Two One Aviation.
The flight gives participants left-seat experience piloting a small airplane over Burke County.
“Seeing her getting exposed…She had a strong interest and the driving motivation and enjoyed seeing what aviation might have to offer. It was definitely a unique experience.” Maiella said.
He instructs a range of people from 10 to 80 years old but Gwen is one of the unique young people who start out early. The average youngest individual he instructs is 15 years old.
Gwen needed cushions on her seat so she could work the controls.
A Discovery Flight is real-world experience with no room for error. The simulator allows pilots to safely make mistakes and learn from them. “Just let me tell you it took a long time to learn how to land that jet, it was hard!” she said. “I had to just constantly press buttons to land. What I always forgot to do was to turn off the gear and I would have crashed.”
She loves to fly the plane like a roller coaster by going up and down, but she does want to go in a “loopty-loop” one day. She was told she was too light for that trick right now but she will be able to when she is older.
Her next flight took place on April 2, 2022 in a World War II trainer biplane. “When they got out of that biplane, the pilot said, ‘You guys might have a fighter pilot right here, this girl is fearless,’” Joseph said.
Along with these experiences, Gwen has been part of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Young Eagles program for two years. Through this, she is able to fly with a pilot for free from the Hickory Regional Airport.
Nearly 2.3 million children have flown with the Young Eagles program and are 5 times more likely to pursue a career in aviation.
“It's a really cool opportunity for children who are eight to 17. They also have scholarships for those who want to be in that trajectory.” Jessica said.
When Gwen turns 16, she has some big birthday plans like getting her flying license.
“You can complete all of your training hours and then you can take your first solo flight on your 16th birthday. That’s the youngest you can be. So there’s kind of a tradition with people that are big into aviation and they go and get their pilot’s license…then they go and get their driver's license so they can fly a plane before they can drive.” Joseph explained.
With a few pilot lessons under her belt, she has added them to her pilot book that tracks all of her experiences. Each year, she is getting closer and closer to getting her license.
Saydie Bean is a summer intern for The Paper. She may be reached at 828-455-8595 or via email at saydie@thepaper.media.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.