Cheryl Stearns, second from left, receives the NAA's Distinguished Stateswoman of Aviation Award [Courtesy: National Aeronautic Association]
Key Takeaways:
Cheryl Stearns developed a passion for skydiving at a young age, quickly excelling in competitions and setting ambitious goals to become national and world champion.
Her illustrious skydiving career includes winning two world championships, 33 national championships, setting 30 world records, and becoming the first woman to join the U.S. Army's elite Golden Knights parachute team.
Beyond skydiving, Stearns also had a distinguished military career, worked as a commercial airline pilot, and was recently honored with the Distinguished Stateswoman of Aviation Award for her extensive contributions as a parachutist, pilot, and mentor.
For skydiving ace Cheryl Stearns, jumping out of an airplane began as a dream when she was eight, growing up in Scottsdale, Arizona. In the dream, she was stepping out of a window and feeling the sensation of falling—or was she?
“The dream felt so real, but I wondered if falling really felt the same way,” she said recently, more than 22,000 jumps later.
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Jonathan Welsh is Lead Editor of Aviation Consumer and a private pilot who worked as a reporter, editor and columnist with the Wall Street Journal for 21 years, mostly covering the auto industry. His passion for aviation began in childhood with balsa-wood gliders his aunt would buy for him at the corner store. Follow Jonathan on Twitter @JonathanWelsh4
