Yia Vang, Sun Country Pilot

The modest exterior at the Sun Country hangar masks the potential it usually holds – an airplane ready to take to the sky and fly nearly anywhere.  Outside, pilot Yia Vang stood in front of the plane as it sparkled in the October sun.

Yia Vang dreamt of his future as a pilot while growing up in St. Paul, MN.  “When I was a kid I always thought it’d be something interesting to do.  I’m just not one of those office types [who] sit in the office all day long,” said Vang.  “It was just interesting [to me] that tin metal could fly. A lot of my friends wanted to go into computer science or engineering, but I leaned more towards flying because I’m more hands on.”

After graduating from Highland Park High School in 1988, Vang went to the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, earning his private, commercial, and instrumental licenses in 1994.  But despite his education, Vang still feared what he had decided to learn to do for the rest of his life. “The very first flight was pretty scary [because it was] something new that I’d never done before.” Having only had ten and a half hours of supervised flying practices with an instructor, Vang took his first solo flight in Warren, MN.  “That was kind of scary because before that the flight instructor was always there.  Your hands are sweaty,” said Vang, adding that, “it was a great sense of satisfaction.” But after he took his first flight, he overcame his fear, “It took a while to get used to it, just that sensation of being in the air. But after five or ten flights I got used to it and I knew it was what I wanted to do.”

Vang moved to the East Coast to attain his flight instructor, instrument instructor, multi-engine instructor, and airline transport pilot licenses.  While there he also flew cargo planes for Wiggins Airway in New Hampshire.  Being a pilot during the New England was very rough, and as a pilot he needed to be ready for anything, especially bad weather. “[Sometimes] the forecast changed from what they were predicting,” he said. “The forecast would call for good weather, but then it would get really bad.  You have to make sure you’re ready for it, especially in the wintertime in New England.”

New England winters also often meant flying through frigid clouds.  “You don’t see anything,” Vang said, “all you see is the cloud.  When I was flying cargo there were a lot of icings [moisture in the atmosphere that freezes onto airplane wings].  [When] moisture is on the aircraft and the ice builds up when you’re flying through the cloud, you gotta decide what to do.  [As a pilot] you could try to blow the ice off the wing, you can always try to pick a different altitude . . . you always have to be flexible.  You have backup plans all the time.

And the New England operations were definitely single pilot ones. “I didn’t have a co-pilot,” Vang said, “and we flew at night.  It was different because . . . you’re by yourself.  There’s nobody there to back you up if you forgot something.  You have to be on top of things.”

After Vang’s experience in New Hampshire, Vang began flying for Sun Country in 2000.  “Sun Country is a great airline.  I enjoy working for them,” Vang said. Because Sun Country is one of the nation’s smaller airlines, it allowed its employees to get to know each other.  “A lot of bigger airlines like Delta don’t have that personal aspect because there are so many pilots, so many flight attendants,” he said, “I really enjoy that aspect of Sun Country.  A lot of Hmong families are like them; they’re very close knit.  We’re a family [at Sun Country] like my Hmong family.” Vang added, “If any of the Hmong are ever flying Sun Country, stick your head in the cockpit and say ‘hi’ to me!

The support of his Hmong family helped him pursue his dream in the first place.  “My parents helped me out a lot,” he said, “they thought it was something that would be different, that it was something that would really help me and challenge me.  Not very many Hmong people are doing it.”

But Vang had to rely on his own persistence to overcome the financial burden of attending school.  “I had to work to put myself through college every summer; I worked in school to support myself,” he said.  The difficult tests required in order to achieve licensure presented another challenge.  “It was a big struggle . . .  and stressful at times because you didn’t know if you could do it,” he added. In the end, Vang’s worries were for nothing: his hard work proved that he was capable because he passed his instructor tests on his first try

According to Vang, it isn’t unheard of for Hmong parents say, “Why don’t you become a doctor or a lawyer?” rather than, “Why don’t you become a pilot?” However, Vang doesn’t believe anything should prevent Hmong youth from following their dreams. As one of the few Hmong pilots out there, Vang noted that, “some [Hmong people] are surprised at what I do.  They think it’s something that can’t be achieved . . . but I’m a testament that it’s not impossible, you know, if you really push yourself. If any Hmong kids are interested, or think they’d like to do it, why can’t they try it?  Don’t let anybody tell them that they can’t do it.  It’s tough getting there, but half the fun is getting there.  Once you’re there, it’s a journey that’s done.  I certainly had a great time getting there.”

By Teresa Townsend