We at SCORCH hear the criticism all the time. “Y’all just have a bunch of pretty faces in the magazine, they lack substance!”

Well Ricarda blows that stereotype to pieces. Not only is she a 7+ Stunna but she also has a lot more to offer as well. She’s a “fly-girl” in every sense of the word!

What’s your age and profession?
I recently turned 23 and I’m
a Helicopter Pilot.

How did you decide that was what you wanted to do?
From small I can recall thinking to myself I didn’t want to be cooped up in an office. I knew I needed something that was a little bit more exciting. At first my goal was to be an airplane pilot, just being in control of this large machine, feeling the turbulence etc, the whole idea of it fascinated me.

So you’re an adrenaline junkie?
Yea, I got a rush from it; most people may be scared or shy away from it but I loved the thought of it! My cousin who works offshore is the one who put forward the idea of flying helicopters. So I researched it, found a school and set off on my journey to be the best damn helicopter pilot out there.

7+ Stunna & Helichopter Pilot -Rircarda Thompson

So you completed it last year; where did you go from there?
Well right now I’m freelancing. I work with a company out of Mexico called Comesa. I’m on call as the need arises, so they will fly me out there to work probably for a few weeks to a month, then I come back home. I normally would be responsible for transporting machinery and people out into the field.

So how long did it take you to complete your training?
It takes as little as 6 months to do it. For me it took about 1 and a 1/2 years, because I wanted to travel as well so I flew to Miami, Orlando, California just to name a few places. I was 20 when I left TnT at that time.

How would you describe your profession to a five year old?
It is VERY cool! I get to fly Helicopters! *laugh*

Watch out World!

What do you think is the hardest part of your job?
Multitasking on a high level and the fact that you have to concentrate a lot. At the end of the day it’s my life and other people’s lives in my hands, so there is no room for error. The
helicopter alone costs a few million dollars (US).

How do you manage that? For someone so young that’s plenty responsibility.
The first thing is maturity, definitely. You just have to motivate yourself to get the job done and more importantly get it done right the first time!

What do you think was your hardest day on the job?
To me every day brings new challenges, but my first day out alone just so happened to be my most challenging. It was my first solo flight and I had a communication failure. It wasn’t on the job
but still in training and I couldn’t speak to anyone to get clearance to land. I had to do an emergency procedure, circling the landing zone till I figured out the most practical solution possible. It was a bit nerve racking but while in it I didn’t really think about anything else but a solution. It was all my call and in the end it turned out pretty well. I landed on the taxi way where I knew it would be clear.

Being in a male dominated profession how have you adapted?
Well that’s one of the reasons I don’t have a job in Trinidad right now. There is a lot of politics down here. I got a chance to prove myself by taking jobs outside of TnT. Experience is everything,
plus you get a chance to build a name for yourself. I think outside of Trinidad they focus more on your skill set and not the fact that you’re a female. For instance one of my first trips to Mexico I was in a camp of a hundred plus men and lil’ ole me was the only female. Now when I say camp it is literally that. It was port-a-potties, the full works but I had to
adapt.

At first my fellow pilots were intimidated by me but now it’s all cool. One of them even told me that it was great to see a woman doing the job.