Danielle S Dunphy
Pilot
Reno, NV

I learned to fly in 1995, in Reno, NV.
I became interested in flying through a classmate who was a flight instructor and invited me on a demo flight. Soon after, I took up flying lessons and got my private thru CFI in a year and a half, then moved to San Diego where I worked as a flight instructor at North Island Naval Air Station. Then I became a charter pilot for a small company near Sacramento, CA flying piston twins to and from the Bay Area and Central and Southern California. After almost a year at that job, I was hired by another charter company in Southern California to fly Lear Jets, and then the Falcon 50.
From there, I went to work for a private owner to fly his newly purchased Falcon 2000, where I stayed for several years until the economic downturn in 2008 forced him to sell his aircraft.
At about the same time, my (then) 22 year old nephew, who had been diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease just 8 months earlier, went in to respiratory failure as a result of the disease, and became ventilator dependent. It was then that I decided to put flying on hold and become one of his primary caregivers. After learning how to deal with ventilators and enjoying the challenge that respiratory care presents, I decided to go to school to become a Respiratory Therapist, in which I am currently enrolled, and hope to graduate by the end of 2011.
Flying part time as an air ambulance pilot with Lifeguard International affords me the opportunity to continue flying as well as go to school full time and enjoy the best of both worlds.