She said she was never really afraid of her daughter flying — except for a brief two minutes.
The mother of Valencia 18-year-old Stephanie Croisdale recalled those two tense minutes she experienced last November, when her daughter took her first solo flight.
“She was supposed to do three laps with the instructor, and then the instructor is supposed to step out after three laps, and I see that the instructor didn’t step out, and they did another lap,” Croisdale’s mom said during a recent telephone interview. “I started thinking, ‘Maybe she (her daughter) got cold feet.’ It’s possible because it’s a big step.”
After the fourth lap, the instructor finally stepped out of the plane. That’s when Croisdale’s mom said she began to worry — her daughter was about to take off on her own.
Croisdale’s mom said she didn’t want to put negative energy out into the universe, adding that she believes in energy exchange. She tried to push the fearful thoughts out of her mind.
“I remember when he (the instructor) closed the door, he walked away, and it just brings tears to my eyes,” she said, beginning to cry as she told the story. “That was my first moment when I felt fear. For two minutes my heart started beating so fast.”
Then she watched her daughter take off, and in that moment, she felt a surge of pride, thinking to herself, “Go, girl.” From that point on, the fear was gone. It hasn’t returned since.
“Now it’s like, ‘OK, honey, go have fun.’”
Croisdale has been flying for two years and is close to getting her pilot’s license. She still hasn’t gotten her driver’s license. She said she’s more afraid of the roads than she is of the skies, though she did just get her driver’s permit in June. She wants to be able to drive so she can take herself to the airport.
“I feel like there are so many cars so close on the road,” she said during a recent telephone interview. “I just feel safer in the sky.”
Croisdale has been traveling by plane since she was just 8 months old, often going to visit family in the Czech Republic. She said those early trips sparked her love for airports and flying.
Her mom, Iveta Croisdale, said she remembers her daughter always looking up at the skies.
“Every time when she saw a plane,” her mom said, “she was always pointing at it. I’m just walking, thinking nothing of it. She always noticed the sound and always looked up and always was amazed by it. And she started noticing what type of plane, about what engine they have. She knew this type and that type, and would say, ‘This is a Boeing.’ That’s how it started.”
At around age 12 or 13, Croisdale thought she might be a flight attendant.
“Then something clicked in my brain one day,” she said. “I had this flight simulator app, and I thought, ‘You know what? Why just be around the planes when I could be the one flying them?’”
That’s when Croisdale set a goal to become an airline pilot.
A few weeks before her 16th birthday, she found out that for about $125, she could take a “discovery flight” — an introductory lesson at a flight school where, with a certified instructor’s help, she could experience what it’s like to fly a plane.
“It was 30 minutes on the ground and 30 minutes in the air,” Croisdale said. “It’s just an introduction to how aviation works.”
According to Croisdale’s mom, after the discovery flight, her daughter was instantly hooked — she had completely fallen in love with flying.
Croisdale said she still has a long journey ahead before she can become an airline pilot. After earning her private pilot’s license, she’ll need to complete several additional certifications and licenses. To gain the 1,500 flight hours required for an airline career, she plans to work as a flight instructor along the way.
In the meantime, Croisdale will start her first semester at College of the Canyons this fall and eventually transfer to a four-year university.
“I’m going to be studying aerospace engineering,” she said. “So, I’ll have that degree as a backup. And it expands my knowledge of aerospace.”
Croisdale’s mom said she could easily see her daughter becoming an engineer. Even as a child, she was always curious about how things worked. When she developed an interest in airplanes, she became especially fascinated by the wheels — studying their size on different planes, how the gears function, and the way they fold in and out during flight.
But her daughter’s dream is to be a pilot, and she doesn’t see her altering course.
Linda Luger, Croisdale’s horseback riding instructor and the owner at Jump for Joy in Saugus, said Croisdale is “quite an accomplished young lady,” with so much curiosity.
“I think it’s admirable that someone of her young age is experimenting with learning all kinds of new things,” Luger said over the phone. “She really is chasing her dreams in a very positive, productive, proactive way.”
Luger talked about how Croisdale is interested in the mechanics of how anything and everything works, even wanting to understand how a horse moves and why it reacts emotionally the way it does.
“She’s not just sitting on the horse,” Luger said. “She wants to learn more. ‘Well, what if I do this?’ Or: ‘What happens when I do that?’ Or: ‘If the horse misbehaves, how do I handle it? Why is the horse misbehaving?’”
Horseback riding is another solo activity Croisdale enjoys. She said that even as a kid, she was never really drawn to team sports or group activities.
Her mom said she’s noticed her daughter’s preference for independent activities, though she can’t explain it. What she does know is that her daughter has always been curious and open to trying new things.
“I always call her ‘Yes Girl,’” her mom said. “If you tell her, ‘Would you like to go play pickleball today?’ ‘Yes, let’s try.’ ‘Would you like to go play tennis?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Kayaking?’ ‘Yes.’ She kind of goes for it at least once, and if it’s not for her, she says very nicely, ‘No, that wasn’t for me.’ She’s always interested to try at least once for her knowledge.”
Croisdale has taken guitar and ukulele lessons, and she also likes the solitude of the outdoors. In fact, that’s how she got into horseback riding.
“My dad lived on a ranch since I was 6 years old,” she said. “I actually used to own my own horses. I learned on a pony from my neighbors.”
Croisdale said she began lessons at Jump for Joy in November 2022, starting with horse jumping before transitioning to English riding.
“At one point, I wanted to have my life revolve around horses more,” she said. “I’ve always liked horse riding, but I think it’s more of a hobby. I never thought of it as a main thing because my heart is with aviation. When I ride horses, it’s just so relaxing. It’s like my brain completely shuts off about everything else.”
She said flying can sometimes feel like that, but it depends on the situation. Often, air traffic control is communicating with her, and she needs to stay focused on many things at once. Still, she remembers her first time flying alone as a moment when she felt completely connected to the airplane — much like the bond she feels when riding a horse.
And while she loves flying and feels safer in the air than on the road, she’s had her scary moments in a plane.
“Stalling the airplane at altitude and having the wings dip to either side in the middle of a stall — that really scared me,” she said. “But because flying is my passion, I can work through those fears and become stronger from it.”
Croisdale also shared past frustrations she experienced in the cockpit. Landing the plane, for example, took her around six months of lessons before she could do it. She’d heard of many people who’d given up on their training because they couldn’t get the landing down. Now it’s her favorite thing to do.
Another challenge for her is the paperwork before a flight. She explained that she’ll spend hours the day before a cross-country flight (flights over 50 nautical miles) drawing up flight plans, which include factoring in weather and winds for safety, fuel efficiency and flight times.
“It’s a struggle because the forecasted weather isn’t always accurate,” she said. “This results in me having to correct the headings I fly while in the air to stay on course using GPS, VOR (VHF Omnidirectional Range) and other navigational tools. This happened on a solo flight to San Luis Obispo where my ground speed was slower than expected at times due to changes in wind velocity. Aviation is constantly about adapting to situations. Different conditions means (that) no two landings are alike. Staying current in emergency practices — such as engine failure — helps ensure that pilots can stay focused, calm and aware for the next steps in resolving the issue.”
During a very recent solo flight that she took from San Luis Obispo back to Santa Paula, she tried to describe what was, she said, an indescribable feeling.
“I got cleared to taxi to the runway, and then all of a sudden, on the radio, I hear that American Airlines is cleared to taxi to the same runway as me on the same taxiway. I’m next on the runway, and I’m trying to do my before-takeoff engine checks and all that, and all of a sudden, I see this Airbus taxiing toward me. Honestly, I was like, ‘They’re not going to fit here,’ but I was told they have to be No. 1 for takeoff. It was scary, but so funny, because I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, they have to wait for me to take off now.’ So, then I got cleared to take off before them. It felt so cool, but at the same time I needed to do my engine checks quicker so I can get out of their way.”
Croisdale attributed her focus under such a stressful scenario to her training. She said her flight instructor has told her that she does better under pressure.
She welcomes any frustration as part of the learning process, using it to improve. With practice, she sees herself steadily getting better, which motivates her to keep moving forward on her journey.
At the end of the day, it’s being in the plane that makes it all worth it. Croisdale cherishes the views from high altitudes. And she adores airplanes.
“I’ve always loved looking up at the sky and looking at them,” she said. “Even now, I’ll see an airplane and I’ll get chills. I almost want to tear up if it’s looking so glorious in the sunlight. I absolutely love aviation. It’s just so beautiful.”
Know any unsung heroes or people in the SCV with an interesting life story to tell? Email [email protected].
