Andrea Eldridge recently retired as a pilot for American Airlines and an FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) DPE (Designated Pilot Examiner). A graduate of the UC Riverside—Palm Desert MFA program, she has published personal essays on aviation in several magazines including Air & Space/Smithsonian, Plane & Pilot, and Warbird Digest. Her story, “Strange Birds,” a chapter from her memoir about flight training in Japan, won the Solas Award in the women’s category for Best Travel Writing this year. Additionally, she was nominated for a poetry Pushcart Prize. She lives in Idaho with her husband and two dogs.