Colleen Keller
Colleen Keller is an instrument-rated commercial pilot with over 18 years and 2100 hours' experience flying her 1971 Cessna Cardinal Retractable Gear airplane. Colleen is also an FAA-certified Airframe and Power Plant Mechanic and she has used this rating to lovingly care for her Cardinal for many years.
Colleen flies over 150 hours a year in her Cardinal on both local flights and on long-distance cross-country flights each year. In the past she's flown as far south as Key West FL, as far north as the Arctic Circle in Alaska, and to Mexico.
Colleen recently bought a second airplane, an Experimental Steen Skybolt biplane. She is practicing flying this tailwheel-equipped aircraft and hopes to participate in amateur acrobatic competitions in the future once she figures out how to fly the plane!
Colleen didn't become interested in flying until she was lucky enough to get a hop in a Navy A-6 Intruder off an aircraft carrier back in 1990 as part of her job as a Navy civilian analyst. She loved the "jet" experience so much, she tried to join the Navy to fly, but was told she was too old (at 26) to enter the pilot pipeline. Undeterred, she returned to San Diego and started flight training in Cessna 152s at North Island Naval Air Station in the Navy flying club. She bought her Cardinal before she had her private
certificate, and has been flying it ever since.
The Cardinal is the perfect plane to take Young Eagles aloft. It is smooth, roomy, and has lots of visibility due to the lack of landing gear (once the gear comes up) and lack of struts. Best of all, Colleen encourages parents to come along (in the back seat) to take photos and to enjoy the flight with their Young Eagle. Colleen is an avid mentor of young pilots and enjoys sharing her love of flying with both parents and kids alike.
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