Meet Angelia Myles-Pilcher, the first black female helicopter pilot on the west coast and the first black female police helicopter pilot!

Logbook total: 6,000+ hours, Ratings: Commercial pilot-helicopter, Aircraft flown most: Hughes MD500, Callsign: "Ladyhawk."

Angelia grew up in Compton. She went to Compton High school, and she later graduated from Cal State Long Beach, where she earned a degree in criminal justice. She wanted to work in law enforcement to give back to the community she grew up in. Little did she know it would uncover her passion for aviation in this career.

*For those from out of state, Compton is one of the oldest cities in Los Angeles County California approximately 11 miles from Downtown Los Angeles and 11 miles from the Port of Los Angeles (hence why Compton is known as the "Hub City".) Compton has its own municipal government and airport. It is mostly famous for the birth of gangster rap NWA, Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, etc., and the birthplace of Venus and Serena Williams.

The Compton Police Department hired Angelia in 1983. She knew the police academy was one of the hardest things she had ever accomplished, but had no idea what other challenges were to come in her career. She excelled at patrol, narcotics, and vice. During a narcotics raid, which ended in a shootout between officers and suspects, Angelia saw the Sheriff's helicopter land and transport the wounded officers to a local hospital. At that moment, Angelia became fascinated with helicopters and realized her new challenge of becoming a pilot was on the horizon. Little did she know, an Air Support Unit was coming to Compton.

The need for an Air Support Unit was critical in Compton. Relying on the Sheriff's Aero Bureau was constantly proving to be difficult even though they were willing to assist (weather, personnel, costs, and workload considerations constantly impaired service to Compton's busy department.) During the 1980s - crack cocaine, gang wars, and violent crime had been running ramped in Compton. Officer workload during the 1980s and 1990s was outrageous. Compton Police realized they needed their own air unit. At the infancy of the Air Support Unit, 14 officers interviewed for the position of helicopter pilot (Angelia being 1 of the 14.) After interviewing, Angelia became one of the pilots selected for the job.

Angelia admits she was afraid to stand up on a ladder but when it came to flying, she had no fears! She began helicopter training in an Enstrom 280, and transitioned to the MD500. Angelia credits Master Chief Pilot Henry Robinson as a major influence on helping her through her studying and training. Angelia had no prior flight training or experience. Compton's pilots during that time were sent to the Pasadena Police Department air support division for training. Angelia quickly realized that training was actually more challenging than the police academy! Even though learning aviation was hard, Angelia said, "I actually had a lot of fun learning to fly. There were a lot of laughs because I knew nothing about aviation! A lot of jokes and fun times came about during training."

Angelia finished pilot training in about 4 months. She then became a certified pilot assigned to the unit. One day her supervisor spoke to her and said, "Angelia, we think you might be the first..." Angelia replied, "first what?" The supervisor followed up with "the first black female police helicopter pilot." How far did that go? Well, the Whirly Girls (an organization which aims to advance women in helicopter aviation) dubbed Angelia Whirly Girl #653. She was then recognized as the first African American female helicopter pilot on the west coast, but also the first female African American police helicopter pilot.

Angelia loved flying her MD500 with the doors off, she loved high-speed chases, circling around crime scenes, and helping her community from the sky. Interestingly, Compton's Air Support Unit operated with two pilots on board. One pilot would fly. The other pilot would work the observer spot. They would rotate positions to make it fair. Occasionally, if one pilot called in sick, they would take up a patrol officer to operate the observer position. Angelia said, "one of the challenges with that, was finding someone who didn't get motion sickness."

After six plus years of flying, they offered Angelia the chance to promote to Sergeant. She accepted the offer of the promotion and she hasn't flown helicopters since. In the year 2000, retirement was on the horizon for Angelia as the Compton Police Department was expected to merge with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. As the merger approached, she was ready to move into a new chapter of life beyond the badge.

This story is an example of how anything is possible! Angelia advises other women looking into aviation careers, "be positive; never limit yourselves or let anyone else detain, deter, or distract you from your goals."

Compton and California will always be Angelia's true home. She lived and worked in Compton for over 33 years. The city, the people, the culture and the department gave her the courage and commitment to make her aviation dreams come true.

Angelia now lives in Georgia, where she is close to her grandchildren and elderly mother. Since she retired in 2000, she began her new passion for real estate! Until next time, fly safely and remember, "life is worth flying for!"