Meet Maddy Miskell: One Part of Southern Sky Magnolias ARC

Hey, welcome to Learn KRV, the podcast. We are here at FRVA and we're here with Maddie. Hi! And Maddie, tell us what you are getting ready to do because I'm so excited and I will just mess it all up.

So this summer I'm doing something called the Air Race Classic, which was started in 1929 by pilots like Louise Sadden and Amelia Earhart. It's an all-women's air race around the country. This year it's starting in St. around the St. Louis area and ending around the St. Louis area, doing a big circle around the Midwest. And me and three other incredible women I've known for years are racing it together to help represent our community in the Southern Atlanta area.

And how long have you been RBing?

I've been RBing for almost 10 years now, and I've been a member of FMCA, formerly FMCA now FRBA for eight years and been coming to these conventions for over eight years.

And how old are you?

I'm 19 years old.

So you're 19. You are a pilot. You're getting ready to fly around the country and just overall be-I'm sorry, I'm going to say it. You're just gonna overall be a bat. That's what you're gonna do. I was so excited about this. So what got you into flying?

So my family's been involved in aviation for four generations, starting with my great-grandma in the 30s. Uh her husband, her flew and worked for Boeing, my grandpa worked for Boeing, his brother was a um a Coast Guard pilot and a pilot for Alaska Airlines, and now my dad's a pilot for um Delta Airlines. So this is a family legacy thing. It's been a family thing for years. My whole state. My whole family's worked for Boeing, so kind of like got me out there being like, well, if they can do that, then obviously I can, right?

So what's your I'm gonna ask you, what is the first memory you have of being on a plane?

Oh, I have two that are totally different. The first one was um we were going to flying home from Anchorage, Alaska in 2014, and my dad was the co-pilot, and his captain was a girl. It was my first time remembering seeing a female pilot in a big jet. And uh, I don't remember her name, but she was incredible. And at the end of the flight, we landed in Seattle at like three in the morning. My dad and her up there, like, hey, you want to press this button to help turn off the airplane? And I think it's just like the coolest thing ever. And then my first time actually flying was when I was 13 years old, and a good friend of my dad said, Hey, we're going, come on. And I think I cried that whole night. I was just in the back of his airplane being like, I can actually fly this airplane.

That is so cool. That is so cool. So we need to invite her on the podcast. Yes, we're gonna have you on the podcast. We want to hear all about everything. But how can our listeners get involved if they want to help support you and your team?

Follow us on Instagram and Facebook at Southern Skies Magnolia Arc ARC. That's where all our events are posted, as well as any information about our teammates. And of course, if you want to help us more, we have info for sponsorships and our GoFundMe on there to help support our team get through this endeavor because everything in aviation costs a lot of money. But if you feel like you want to help support us that way, it would be greatly appreciated. Again, follow our socials, Southern Sky Magnolia's Arc, and that'll give you all the information you need to support us in that way.