Trailblazers in Aviation Luncheon @ Sun 'n Fun (Prop 75)

Join the Southeast Section of the The Ninety-Nines Women Pilots Association for a catered lunch and presentation by special guest, aerobatic champion Dr. Cecilia Aragon.

DR. CECILIA ARAGON is an award-winning author, airshow pilot, and the first Latina to earn the rank of Full Professor in the College of Engineering at the University of Washington. She’s worked with Nobel Prize winners and has taught astronauts to fly. Her innovative research, and a stint at NASA designing software for Mars missions, led President Obama to call her “one of the top scientists and engineers in the country.” In addition to her love of math and science, she’s passionate about helping others face their own fears and challenges to achieve their goals.

Join us for a catered lunch and presentation at Prop 75 at 11:30 on Saturday, April 5th to learn how Cecilia overcame her paralyzing fear and self-doubt, adapted to fly and train as a competitive aerobatic pilot, and used mathematics to overcome the limitations of her Pitts S-1T to maximize the score of an impossible aerobatic competition sequence and earn a her place as the first Latina on the United States Unlimited Aerobatic Team, the ‘Olympics’ of aviation.

Cecilia’s memoir, Flying Free: My Victory Over Fear to Become the First Latina Pilot on the US Aerobatic Team will be available for purchase and book signing. Flying Free debuted on five bestseller lists and is the winner of the 2021 Nancy Pearl Award from the Pacific Northwest Writers Association, and the International Latino Book Award Gold Medal for Most Inspirational Nonfiction in English.

Flying Free is the story of how Cecilia broke free from expectations and rose above her own limits by combining her passion for flying with math and logic in unexpected ways. You don’t have to be a math whiz or science geek to learn from her story. You just have to want to soar.

All proceeds from book sales will be donated to fund future Trailblazers in Aviation Luncheons.

For more information about Cecilia, visit her website: https://ceciliaaragonauthor.com

For information about The Ninety-Nines, including how to join, visit: https://www.ninety-nines.org

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Sun 'n Fun 51 Prop75, 3550 W. Pipkin Rd., Lakeland, United States