Karen Koenig was the only female in her class studying aviation when she was at Lyons Township High School.
But the 1975 graduate has worked as a commercial pilot for UPS for 27 years, and shared stories Tuesday with aviation science classes about her long career as an airplane mechanic, passenger and commercial pilot.
“I had a special love for being a flight instructor because you are helping someone else achieve their dreams,” Koenig said.
In her work with UPS, Koenig said she flies between 900-1,000 hours per year, mostly overseas.
“I usually work for two weeks and then have two weeks off,” Koenig said. “Because I have been doing this a long time I have choices in which routes I take. I have done a lot of traveling and feel like my work is a vacation because of all the places I have been.”
She was asked if she had a favorite destination to fly to, and said there are many.
“This time of year I like to go to Germany,” she said. “My grandparents were born there, and I enjoy the way everything is decorated for Christmas.”
Students submitted written questions, asking about her background, requirements to become a pilot and what sparked her interest in aviation.
Koenig recalled her first aviation class included mostly farmers who worked with farm equipment, and returning soldiers from Vietnam.
She advised students to understand the number of hours it takes to become an airplane pilot, with a bare minimum of 250 flight hours to get a license. She also told students not to limit themselves too much in deciding a career.
“Even within aviation, there are many different things you can do like instruction, aviation writing, mechanics, commercial and passenger flying,” she said. “I have a passion for being an aircraft pilot, but I am also an aircraft mechanic and can do other things in the industry.”
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Koenig also talked about the high standards required to fly aircrafts.
“I need to have medical exams yearly and would not be able to fly if I had any serious types of disease,” she said. “I also have to practice on a simulator once a year and go through all sorts of on-going tests.”
Passenger plane pilots have even more concerns because they have the added demands of customer service and satisfaction.
“If a passenger becomes ill or is worried about missing a connection, the pilot needs to be skilled at handling those sorts of things,” she said. “As a commercial pilot I don’t need to worry as much about a soft landing and there are less security procedures.”
While she doesn’t fly passengers, Koenig shared some of the more interesting cargo she has transported.
“One time I had a whole cargo plane full of Beanie Babies,” she said. “I also carried the Super Bowl trophy from Ireland back to the United States. I have carried cash from Fort Knox, precious stones and expensive art work.”
Sophomore Evie Anaganos wondered about Koenig’s first flight.
“This was the first plane I flew,” Koenig said, holding up a model of a Grumman Traveller four-seat plane. “I still enjoy flying smaller planes in my spare time.”
She also said that understanding the workings of planes is important in the event something goes wrong.
“You need to be able to understand what the problem is in order to find the right course of action.”
Anaganos helped to arrange Koenig’s visit after talking with a former LT student.
“So many students are unsure of what they want to do when they graduate from school so I thought having some alumni come in and talk about careers would be useful,” she said.
Diane Dachota is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.