What does Polk State Faculty have in frequent with Jay Leno, Navy submarines, and a airplane crash rescue? Properly, they’re all a part of Genesah Duffy’s journey.
Duffy is a U.S. Navy veteran who was working in data expertise when she selected a whim to take a discovery flight out of St. Pete-Clearwater Worldwide Airport.
“Within the Navy, I lived in Guam for 4 years and labored on submarines. Out of the Navy, I used to be sitting at a desk working in IT. I wasn’t being challenged sufficient,” Duffy mirrored. “I didn’t have any buddies or household in aviation, but it surely piqued my curiosity. I randomly went on a discovery flight, and on the time, I used to be truly petrified of heights. Nevertheless it was a thrill and one thing that was going to problem me. From that first flight, I used to be hooked.”
She accomplished coursework in her hometown at Broward Faculty earlier than transferring to Polk State.
“The Aerospace Program at Polk is a good alternative to not solely get taught by the very best however to additionally use your advantages to the fullest,” she cited of the G.I. Invoice she has utilized as a veteran which covers one hundred pc tuition and charges at public faculties. “Polk State was the primary public aviation faculty in Florida to supply a bachelor’s diploma. And whereas it’s the inexpensive choice, you aren’t minimize quick if you go to Polk State.”
In 2015, she achieved her Polk State Affiliate in Science in Skilled Pilot diploma and began working at an plane upkeep store in Winter Haven close to Jack Brown’s Seaplane Base. She determined so as to add a seaplane score to her personal, business, instrument, and flight teacher scores. She additionally holds a personal helicopter score.
She turned a seaplane flight teacher and was featured in 2017 in Flying Journal’s #Live2Fly collection. A director at ICON Plane Flight Heart in Tampa noticed Duffy’s protection and recruited her as a flight teacher earlier than she was promoted to supervisor of flight operations, chief pilot, and finally senior director of flight operations.
ICON led Duffy to an episode of “Jay Leno’s Storage” in 2019 titled Sky’s the Restrict by which Leno pays homage to automobiles influenced by the science of flight and spotlights the historical past of aviation.
Duffy herself flew Leno in a small ICON A5 seaplane from Lengthy Seaside Harbor, over Santa Monica, to Burbank the place she landed on his property and pulled the plane straight into his storage.
“He was laid again and actually cool. I demonstrated the airplane and let him fly just a little bit,” she shared.
“Within the discipline of aviation, every single day is just a little bit completely different,” she added.
Duffy made headlines once more in November 2021 when she was conducting a return-to-service flight for an ICON A5 seaplane out of Peter O. Knight Airport in Tampa. She heard over the radio {that a} Moony plane had crashed into the water.
“A Moony is just not a seaplane. I knew that it had simply occurred and that Tampa PD and the Marine unit have been shut, but it surely was nonetheless going to take just a little bit so I needed to see if I may assist,” she recalled. “After I noticed them within the water, I assumed ‘it’s foolish for me to not land and attempt to assist them as a result of I’ve the potential to take action.’”
Their airplane was fully submerged. One particular person had a life vest on, whereas the opposite didn’t, so Duffy went for the person with no life vest and pulled him out of the water. She then helped switch the pilot from the airplane to a rescue boat.
“It was undoubtedly a wierd day,” Duffy mentioned, “not at some point is like the opposite.”
Her days are wanting a bit completely different now too, with Duffy not too long ago assuming a place with Envoy Air, the most important regional provider for American Airways.
She can be near finishing her Polk State Bachelor of Science in Pilot Science. The Aerospace Program’s flexibility and on-line programs permit her to work towards her diploma whereas working full-time. Along with her Polk State training, she feels ready for something the sphere might throw her manner.
“Polk State Aerospace is a extremely nice program with educated instructors who work contained in the business,” Duffy mentioned. “For anybody desirous about flying, I’d one hundred pc advocate Polk State and I’d inform them to stay it out.”
“Everybody has their very own timeline and path to the cockpit,” she added. “However if you’re devoted, you are able to do it.”