Photo courtesy Hollie Tran

Hollie Tran soars to new heights advocating for diversity

Flying a plane is not just a job but a passion for 24-year-old commercial pilot Hollie Tran.

As she takes the skies, she must chant, “don’t think, just do” to not overthink and maintain a calm composure. And when it is time to descend, she relies on her airspeed management skills to seamlessly land the plane.

“Pitch up or down to control speed, increase and decrease power to change altitude, pull the throttle to idle, level off and flare,” Tran said in a nutshell.

With her feet back on the ground, she has the need for speed to be up in the air again.

Tran is a pilot at Thrust Flight in Addison, Texas, where she advocates for a unique career pathway for Asian American women. Her job may be simple, “push to go down, pull to go up,” but piloting requires a deep understanding of the laws, mechanics, weather, and even aeromedical factors.

Tran graduated from Texas Woman’s University with a degree in biology and a minor in chemistry and business. Tran may have switched gears from medicine to aviation, but her biology degree still comes in clutch.

“My biology degree kind of helps me out knowing all the different ways that your body can be affected by changes in altitude or like pulling G's,” Tran said.

When Tran returns home to Plano after an eventful day at flight school, she is tired but glows when she dives into her flight school journey.

“I've always had an interest in aviation," Tran said. "I never thought it would be possible for me to pursue because it's a male-dominated industry."

Tran is a first-generation Vietnamese American and being a woman in a male-dominated field is a not an easy feat.

“It's definitely weird going to school and being one of the very few people of color," Tran said. "Everyone there is mostly Caucasian and male."

Despite these challenges, Tran is more motivated than ever to succeed in her aviation path. She recalls sacrificing up to eight hours to study for her private pilot license when she started flight school.

“I feel like I have to prove myself to be as good as them or to feel accepted," Tran said. "I always feel like I have to try harder, or else they're going to see me as somebody less than them."

But the more Tran learns, the more eager she is to succeed. From tailwheel airplanes to high-altitude pressurized cabin airplanes, Tran can fly them all with passion and courage.

“It just feels like collecting a bunch of Pokémon cards,” Tran said with a laugh.

Tran admits that she had a fear of heights during her early days at flight school, but now flying a plane is "second nature."

“It’s like driving a car,” Tran said.

She recollects her favorite moments from 30,000 feet in the sky, such as seeing a blood moon on her first night flight and encountering shooting stars while airborne.

“It feels special being able to see rare things like that in the sky,” Tran said.

Tran lives her life in the fast lane as a smooth operator. Flight school has taught her to be more independent and mature as a woman.

“Now, I definitely feel like a real adult," Tran says with a smile.

She is a proud female pilot advocating for diversity. Her next step is to train to be hired as an instructor at her flight school and earn hours to apply to an airline. As she continues to immerse herself in aviation, she inspires others to follow their dreams and overcome the obstacles in their way.

“The feeling of adrenaline never really goes away like it's always something that I will love," Tran says.