DiscoverLiterary Aviatrix: The Power of Story - Women in AviationShirley M. Phillips — How Not to Fly an Airplane: Lessons from 40 Years in Aviation
Shirley M. Phillips — How Not to Fly an Airplane: Lessons from 40 Years in Aviation

Shirley M. Phillips — How Not to Fly an Airplane: Lessons from 40 Years in Aviation

Update: 2025-08-09
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Shirley M. Phillips is a pioneering female pilot and author whose new aviation memoir, How Not to Fly an Airplane, captures four decades of pilot life stories and lessons from the cockpit. From her start as a teenage student pilot in New Hampshire to becoming the first pregnant airline pilot at her company, Shirley’s career in aviation is filled with grit, humor, and resilience.

In this pilot interview, Shirley shares what it’s really like to be a flight instructor, including wild stories like regaining control from a student who froze on the controls, instructing state troopers in Cessnas, and discovering a student was on trial for murder. She also talks about her unconventional publishing journey with Apprentice House Press, a small press run by publishing students at Loyola University Maryland — offering valuable insight for memoir writers and indie authors.

📖 Buy the Book: https://literaryaviatrix.com/book/how-not-to-fly-and-airplane/
✈️ Learn More About Shirley and Check out her Moth recording on her website: ShirleyMPhillips.com: www.ShirleyMPhillips.com

Did you know you can support your local independent bookshop and me by shopping through my Bookshop.org affiliate links on my website? If a book is available on Bookshop.org, you'll find a link to it on the book page. By shopping through the Literary Aviatrix website a small portion of the sale goes to support the content you love, at no additional cost to you. https://literaryaviatrix.com/shop-all-books/

Thanks so much for listening!


Blue skies, happy reading, and happy listening!

-Liz Booker


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Shirley M. Phillips — How Not to Fly an Airplane: Lessons from 40 Years in Aviation

Shirley M. Phillips — How Not to Fly an Airplane: Lessons from 40 Years in Aviation

Liz Booker - Pilot, Writer, Aviation Diversity Advocate