Tribute to Captain Judy

It is often said that the sky is the limit and if you dream it, you will live it.

Such was the story of Judith Ann Rice, affectionately known throughout the aviation world as Captain Judy.

Judy was born on January 17, 1953, in Columbus, Ohio. At the age of six, she saw a hot-air balloon flying over her family’s home. She was captivated by the airborne balloon and dreamt that one day she could conquer the skies.

In her adult life, Judy became a teacher and taught in the special-education department of a local school in Columbus. She excelled at teaching students how to overcome extra behavioural, emotional and cognitive obstacles.

During her spare time, Rice would take her young son Benjamin (Ben) to the local airport to see aircraft take off and land, which reignited her passion to become a pilot.

Encouraged by Ben’s innate curiosity about aircraft, Judy enrolled Ben in the Young Eagles programme at the local airport and through Ben’s eyes, she rediscovered her dream of pursuing a life amongst the clouds.

Rice’s passion for aviation and space technology, coupled with 16 years as a teacher, eventually brought her into the field of aviation education. She discovered that children were inspired by aeroplanes and other forms of aircraft and built her curriculum around concepts that were linked with practical aviation demonstrations.

This solidified her belief that science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) were the keys needed to engage students who craved aviation knowledge and a sense of purposeful excitement. It was this belief that set Rice on the path to her transformation into Captain Judy.

She was inspired by two female pilots, Bessie Coleman and Harriet Quimby.

Coleman was the first African-American woman to hold an international pilot’s licence.

Quimby was the first woman in the US to receive a pilot’s licence and in 1912 became the first woman to fly across the English Channel. She died at 37 in a flying accident.

Coleman and Quimby were a strong influence on the future role of women in aviation.

Rice began flying lessons and subsequently became an instrument-rated commercial, multi-engine and Citation-type rated pilot, an advanced ground instructor and a certified flight instructor. Captain Judy logged thousands of hours in various types of aircraft during her career.

She believed that delivering the message of STEM education was essential for achieving feats of greatness, especially among young girls, a demographic that traditionally fell behind their male counterparts. Captain Judy set out to showcase these critical subject matters by presenting herself as a role model to these disciplines.

In early 2012, during a visit to the Florida campus of Embry Bridle University, two TTCAA board members – Trevor Benjamin and Neil Mohammed – unexpectedly came into contact with Dr Lori Bradner. Dr Bradner and some colleagues, who included Captain Judy, were promoting aviation STEM education in the US.

Benjamin and Mohammed invited Dr Bradner and her team, which included Captain Judy, to TT to lead an aviation STEM camp for students during the summer of 2012. Dr Bradner’s team that came to TT also included several former NASA astronauts. The programme hosted by the TTCAA was a tremendous success. It was repeated in 2013 and 2014, during which hundreds of local students received aviation STEM training.

Today, some of the participants of the TTCAA’s STEM programme are in the cockpits of international commercial airlines.

Captain Judy was the founder of Think-Global-Flight, an around-the-world flight of adventure promoting STEM education.

In 2014, together with friends, she began to raise money for an around-the-world flight that would allow her to mentor students as she circumnavigated the globe.

In 2015, Captain Judy embarked on her journey, flying a Cessna Citation Mustang CE-510 aircraft. She visited 35 countries, reaching out to over 20,000 students, many of whom were young girls.

Joining Captain Judy on this memorable flight was Think-Global-Flight ambassador, former astronaut Dr Buzz Aldrin, along with co-pilots and Citation owners Dr John Friedman and Edwin Sahakian, who graciously donated their aircraft for this inspiring and historical flight.

Dr Aldrin was the second person to walk on the moon’s surface during NASA’s Apollo 11 space mission in July 1969.

The TTCAA made a financial donation to support the flight and the TTCAA log was placed on the external fuselage of the Cessna Citation Mustang aircraft, together with those of other donors.

Dr Aldrin endorsed Captain Judy’s mission by telling the State Aviation Journal, “Back when I was privileged to be a part of the Apollo programme, no one had ever heard of STEM. This is the precise focus of Think-Global-Flight and why I strongly support Captain Judy and the flight. I witnessed the differences Captain Judy created on this historic flight.”

Additionally, aviation luminary and voyager pilot Dick Rutan, as a friend and mentor, gave support by serving as a special ambassador to the Think-Global-Flight programme.

The last chapter of Judy’s storied career began in 2017 at Epic Flight Academy in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, where she taught private-pilot ground school.

A much-loved figure on campus, she taught out of the Bessie Coleman classroom. Rice’s caring approach to her role as a teacher to students of varying nationalities earned her the moniker “American Mom” or “Bonus Mom” to those who were having difficulty adjusting to life in a foreign country. Rice instinctively knew who needed a maternal figure and adeptly picked up on those who were struggling with communication or culture shock without diminishing their dignity.

Sadly, Captain Judy died of oesophageal cancer on July 19.

Her greatness was defined by the indelible mark she left on the minds of students around the world united by a shared passion for aviation, regardless of formal education, age, gender, privilege, nationality or any other labels that sought to divide.

In Twelfth Night, Shakespeare wrote, “Some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them.”

Rice became a legend through her pioneering efforts in building partnerships across the world, including TT, to help make a difference in the aerospace industry workforce and the aviation education of students.

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