Cheryl Stearns, second from left, receives the NAA's Distinguished Stateswoman of Aviation Award [Courtesy: National Aeronautic Association]
Key Takeaways:
Cheryl Stearns discovered her lifelong passion for skydiving as a teenager, quickly becoming a competitive jumper and funding her early pursuits through various jobs at the airport.
She achieved unparalleled success in competitive skydiving, securing two world championships, 33 national championships, 30 world records, and was the first woman to join the U.S. Army's elite Golden Knights parachute team.
Beyond skydiving, Stearns built a diverse and distinguished career, serving 29 years in the military, becoming an airline pilot, earning advanced aviation degrees, and continues to mentor and perform demonstration jumps.
Her extensive contributions and accomplishments in aviation were recently recognized with the National Aeronautic Association's Distinguished Stateswoman of Aviation Award.
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
