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Corporate Overview | Workshop History | Workshop Research | How to Get Involved | Workshop Descriptions | Women Take Flight Workshop | Leaders Take Flight Workshop | Facilitators Bios | Workshop Design | Pricing | Testimonials | Journal/News Entries
Address
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Phone – 908 735-0870
Fax – 908 735-0595
Email – upupaway@embarqmail.com
Up, Up, and Away In Hunterdon Inc. (UUAH) was formed to manage special events at Alexandria Field. The largest and most successful event was the Magic of Alexandria Balloon Festival which was held for ten years from 1989 to 1998. At that time we decided to shift our focus to airport infrastructure improvements. While roads were being moved and new ramps and taxiways built there was time to observe closely who the airport customer was and how to better serve that current customer while developing strategies to attract new ones.
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Alexandria Field (N85) |
The President of UUAH, Linda Fritsche Castner comes from a teaching background (physical education and athletics) and became interested in how students benefited from the experience of learning to fly an airplane. She began to concentrate on what the educational process of learning to fly, a process that is perceived as risky, could do for non-traditional fliers - - women and children.
Over the years we have learned that the flying experience allows students to step out of their normal patterns and notice habits that limit them. Through new eyes they experience and observe their own capacity to enter unfamiliar terrain and take action, adapt to changing conditions, and communicate and collaborate effectively with all those involved in the journey.
The Women Take Flight™ workshop has a history that began in 1998 when Linda Fritsche Castner set out to learn why more women didn’t learn to fly. She interviewed over 100 women pilots and an additional 200 wives, mothers, sisters and girlfriends who accompanied their loved-ones to Alexandria Field for a flight lesson. This group of women showed no interest at all in the process of learning to fly. Linda wanted to know why.
Ms. Castner conducted four, two-day workshops at
With anecdotal findings in hand Ms. Castner secured an
educational grant from the New Jersey Division of Aeronautics in May of 2003,
and she went looking for a research partner.
Sue Stafford, Professor of Philosophy at
The two women pilot/researchers formulated the research question carefully: is there a connection between perceived risk-taking and the development of self-reliance in women. They used the phrase “perceived risk-taking” because risk is complex and one goal of the research was to learn the nature of risk as it was perceived by workshop participants. They used the term “self-reliance” because it was so bland. The goal was to insure that words were not put into the mouths of participants. If they felt empowered, they would have to offer that description without prompting.
The workshop has been offered in research mode three times:
the first time through
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| Boston | New Jersey | Colorado |
A variety of research instruments were used: questionnaires, journals, and group discussion. Sessions were video and audio-taped so the exact words and body language of participants could be captured. One month after the workshop, a follow-up question was sent to all participants: have you done anything that you would attribute to your workshop experience? The same question was sent six months after the workshop.
Here is what was learned. First, the workshop did little to develop self-reliance. In fact, most participants reported themselves to be fairly self-reliant before the workshop started. Second, perceived risk is complex. Many participants reported perceiving some physical risk – the risk of dying in a crash. However, psychological and social/cultural risk proved to be more important factors. Fear of “being too stupid,” and “feeling foolish” was reported by a significant number of participants. Third, and most significantly, all participants reported an increase in empowerment, self-esteem, self-respect, or self confidence. These words came from the participants themselves, as indicated in journal entries and follow-ups.
This led the researchers to the following conclusions. If you provide an environment that participants perceive as alien and that requires that they stretch their normal boundaries (these boundaries vary significantly among participants), if you introduce into this environment participants who have a desire for self-discovery and who perceive the environment as risky, and if you provide an opportunity for new learning that has a visceral and emotional component, the result for the participants is an increase in self-esteem, self-confidence, self-respect, and/or empowerment and an ability to apply that new-found empowerment to personal life. A side benefit for general aviation is a positive perception of flying itself.
The research has led to the development of two workshops: Women Take Flight® (WTF) and Leaders Take Flight® (LTF) which are being offered to corporations, educational institutions, and flight schools, in 2006. If, after reading the information below, you are interested, you may either call 908.735.0870 or email upupaway@embarqmail.com with additional questions you need answered or to discuss your interest.
Historically women have never expressed a great interest in aviation. Women have however, always been interested in self-discovery as a path to personal growth. Participants in this workshop have an opportunity to look at their daily responsibilities and discover other possible approaches to their management. The “cockpit” becomes life itself and invites analysis of personal responses to immediate situations, comparing effectiveness. In the two day workshop participants receive:
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Women Take Flight® has been tested in a research format asking the question: “is there a connection between perceived risk-taking and the development of self-reliance in women?” The results reveal that:
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Airplanes and business leaders may seem like an unlikely pairing, yet senior executives can learn much by experiencing the world of aviation. Successful pilots live by three basic skills: proficient aviation to maintain a stable aircraft through changing conditions, vigilant navigation to reach a destination safely, and clear communications to establish who you are, where you are and what you want to do. Executives who demonstrate leadership already know the power of these skills:
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Leaders Take Flight® invites executives to step out of their normal patterns and experience these critical business functions through the lens of aviation and piloting. This fresh perspective provides the team the opportunity to notice habits that limit performance results and realize new creative solutions for leading. The most powerful learning is personal. Through new eyes executives experience and observe their capacity to enter unfamiliar terrain and take action (confidence), adapt to changing conditions (adaptability), and communicate and collaborate effectively with all those involved in the journey (collaboration). These personal and team insights are translated through experiential activities and focused discussions into action strategies for leading more effectively back in the world of business.
Brief Facilitators Bios (Complete resumes available upon request)
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Both the Women Take Flight™ and Leaders Take Flight® workshops have been designed to include the following:
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It is always anticipated that once the participants for a
workshop have been enrolled there will be some degree of customization of the
design to meet particular customer needs.
Call 908.735.0870 or email upupaway@embarqmail.com for delivery
quotes or licensing information.
(From the first Four Women Take Flight
Workshops)
Joan Fenwick
“Linda, thanks for a great weekend! Combining flying with challenges and methodology, with enthusiasm and passion was terrific!”
Lucinda Chou
“I was surprised about how proud I felt after flying the plane. The workshop did renew my love for golf and how I need to use my inner self to excel in this sport. I really enjoyed the two days and would recommend this workshop to other women.”
Joanne Furze
Haekyoung Suh
“The best thing about the workshop . . . realizing how powerful doing physical activity with risk can impact your confidence level. I liked flying and knowing that I was (and can be) in control.”
Dianna Gomez
“The weekend was fabulous, I felt nicely supported in taking myself from 0 to 2000 feet. All my fears seemed useless and obsolete. I was reminded of my strengths and capacity to learn. A very powerful combination/flying and the workshop.”
Christine Boucher
“This is the most incredible thing I have ever done, and this workshop definitely lifted my fear, solved the mystery surrounding flying an airplane. I can’t wait to start taking lessons. Thank you very much. I feel like I grew 10 inches in height.”
Korinna Smith
“You use this program as a learning tool to empower women.”
Nora Muchanic
“I was intrigued by the concept of risk-taking and what I might discover in myself. It was a great opportunity for self development and stretching oneself in a leadership role. I recommend it to other women unconditionally.”
Suzanne Lagay
Journal Entries – Video Taped
Discussions – In The News
(From the Three Research Gathering WTF
Workshops)
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“Wow! There was so much to like! The bond that formed amongst other women in the group, Sue and Linda, the flight instructors, the parallels between the cockpit and life, the actual flying. Oh my gosh! This was just such a positive weekend.”
Colorado
workshop
“I am so much more appreciative of flying and what it takes to fly a plane . . . . My brother-in-law offered to take my two boys for a spin (in the pattern) and for the first time, I was willing to let them go.”
Colorado
workshop
“I thought it very interesting how you tied accomplishment, etc. in this workshop to our daily lives. We weren’t here just to become more familiar with flying, but were here to learn to recognize our strengths and how to draw upon them.”
Colorado workshop
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“I kind of surprised myself with how comfortable I felt flying an airplane of all things. It’s funny when how you look back on something that you perceived as such a big risk that it can change completely. I really do see myself as self-reliant, but when people tell you something over and over, and you think something over and over, you really begin to perceive it as true. This workshop really pushed me to confront risks and has forced me to really look critically at how often I think inside the box, or limit my own capabilities.”
Simmons Participant (Video clip available)
