Emily Applegate’s aviation career was sparked as a young girl flying a kite in a pasture. She yelled for her mom to “bring it down, bring it down.” She promptly ran over, sat on it and said “Now go!”
Applegate went on her first discovery flight after high school at Spartan College of Aeronautics, and I was hooked! "I’ve made it my mission to explore as many facets of the aviation industry that I possibly can," she explained, and she really has.
Since then, Emily has earned her FAA certifications as a commercial pilot, remote pilot, ground instructor, aircraft dispatcher, airframe and powerplant mechanic and authorized inspector, as well as 2 Bachelor’s Degrees from Metropolitan State University of Denver in Aviation Management and Aviation Technology.
Emily quickly realized preventative maintenance and inspections were the next highest costs of aircraft ownership. With every intention of owning her own aircraft and the curiosity of how airplanes operate, she pursued her A&P to lower the cost of owning an aircraft and to learn more about the aircraft she had flown. In a constant pursuit of aviation maintenance, she became an FAA certified IA. Emily was torn with the decision of being behind the controls or turning wrenches, and then she found a position in Tulsa Oklahoma at the world’s largest aircraft maintenance base.
Working for American Airlines, she quickly went from a compliance engineer to a quality control/NDT supervisor responsible for the NDT inspection of American Airlines engines, landing gear and airframe components. She currently leads a team of 30 NDT inspectors. Although Emily was extremely busy working under FAR 121 and 145 operating certificates, she felt the need to educate future generations using skills and knowledge she had acquired.
With her natural mechanical aptitude and love of aviation she was offered a position at Tulsa Tech teaching future A&P’s. Sheryl Oxley, aviation maintenance coordinator at Tulsa Tech, said “Emily has taught in virtually every area of aviation maintenance technology with superb preparation and effectiveness. She has shown to accept any new challenge with enthusiasm and strives to be the best she can be at anything she commits to doing. She embodies professionalism and consistently displays the highest degree of integrity."
In addition to this latest award, Applegate has also received the silver award for the 2020 FAA AMT Awards Program; first place in the 2014 Skills USA State AMT Competition; first place in the 2012 PAMA AMT Competition; fourth place in the 2014 Air Race Classic (Team Racing Rosies); tenth place in the 2021 Air Race Classic (Team Racing Rosies) as well as others. She is a member of the Experimental Aircraft Association, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, International 99’s and Women in Aviation International and often attends the Women in Aviation Conference and MRO Conferences.
"As an air racer in the Air Race Classic I volunteered with the local girl scout troops along the race route to teach them about flying, mechanics and air traffic control so they could be awarded their aviation badges in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Washington," Applegate noted. "My teammate and I dressed up as Rosie the Riveter to inspire others that 'We can do it!' just like women during the war efforts; any goal is achievable if you set your mind to it.
Applegate says her career goal is to simply enjoy everything the aviation industry has to offer and promote it in a way that sparks that same love of aviation in others.
