In the high stakes, ego-driven world of aviation, this is an extraordinary bestselling true story of how a level-headed, self-deprecating woman with an aviation addiction finds herself in jail, her baby ripped from her arms, her piloting career taken away, and every feasible exit leads to a very dark place...

SYNOPSIS:

Title: A Chick in the Cockpit

Log Line: In the high stakes, ego-driven world of aviation, this is an extraordinary bestselling true story of how a level-headed, self-deprecating woman with an aviation addiction finds herself in jail, her baby ripped from her arms, her piloting career taken away, and every feasible exit leads to a very dark place...

Synopsis: ERIKA ARMSTRONG, 30, has a pilot personality. Calm, non-emotional demeanor on the outside while controlling a raging swirl of constant thoughts on the inside. Now in the captain’s seat of a commercial airliner, she has toed the line and used humor and sarcasm to reach the epitome of feminism and independence. She has become a “pilot”, both the noun and verb. On any given day, she is faced with the complex challenges of aviation, dynamics of male flight crews, and snarky sexism that she uses as her strength. Her behavior is a contrast to how girls were raised, but she must change to work in the aviation environment.

Erika is transformed from a meek, shy girl working the front desk to the toughened pilot who flies 24/7 air ambulance, executive charter, corporate airplanes, and eventually to the captain’s seat of a Boeing 727-200. Her hair gets shorter the faster the airplane. Her mentor, a friend, and a Senator have died in separate aircraft accidents, but it spurs her forward through discrimination from her female boss

After thousands of hours locked in a box with men, Erika thinks she has men all figured out—until she gets married. Erika believes she can still have it all and misses the early red flags that others would catch early in the relationship because she’s used to being a dude in the cockpit. BRAD begins to display serious psychological and control issues, but Erika thinks she can fix anything. As their roles shift and Brad becomes the stay-at-home parent, Brad is losing control of his own situation so decides to make sure Erika can’t return to work ever again.

During a dispute, Brad (also a pilot/mechanic) plots to deceive the police and have Erika arrested while she is on maternity leave. He knows that an arrest on her record will keep her grounded from the airlines, so he uses their child and sets a scene to make it appear that he and their infant daughter is being abused. Since he makes the call, the police have a preconceived perception of the situation. Erika is arrested and thrown into the judicial system. She accepts a diversion program plea rather than spend five days in jail but doesn’t realize this is a guilty plea. The subsequent court ordered diversion program is at odds with a marriage counselor who glosses over the abuse and convinces her to stay in the marriage. The entire process is creating an entrapment that is holding Erika tighter to the ground and a second child delves her deep into motherhood.

Financially and emotionally trapped, she finds freedom and strength in her BOOK CLUB. Since she hasn’t spent a lot of time around women, she is reminded how strong and wonderful women can be. Through this group and their stories, she gathers the courage to get out. Once the decision is made to escape, her life is once again in danger. In the moment when she is being ensnared again, her friend from book club happens to witness the truth of the situation and can explain to the police the reality behind the mirage.

During the trial, Brad tries to establish that he should have primary custody and makes accusations about Erika’s character. Erika’s book club unexpectedly shows up in court on Valentine’s Day to disprove his accusations. Erika is triumphant, even though she lost her career, her house and all her money, because her book club provides dozens of small acts of kindness which put her back on her feet. She becomes a famous aviation author/icon and learns how to soar with her feet planted firmly on the ground.

TYPE: Full length feature film | Netflix Series | TV series

PRIMARY GENRE: Drama, Strong Female Lead

SOCIAL MEDIA: A Chick in the Cockpit has 330,000 followers on LinkedIn and Facebook

MY BIO: As an international corporate and airline pilot/captain, published author, editor and writer for seven national aviation magazines, Aviation Professor at MSU Denver, and Director of Instructional Design for Advanced Aircrew Academy, I have learned diverse and complicated skills. But more importantly, I understand the power of integrity, leadership, crew resource management, strength of character and the intelligence of humor. Armed with these skills, I can handle emergencies with focus and positive results. During my twenty-five years in aviation, I have worked in all aspects of the industry. From the friendly front desk CSR of a busy FBO, to the captain's seat of a Boeing 727-200, I've experienced everything in between. I am passionate about the aviation industry and am always amazed how it has changed the world. I've seen the world, but I have also spent extensive time inside a box! I have flight training from Flight Safety, SimuFlite, CAE, Pan Am and NATCO. I am air ambulance and HazMat trained and qualified. Type/captain rated: Boeing 727-200 and Citation 500 series. Experience GIIB, CE650, CJ, Citation X, CE750. Extensive training in BE 90, 100, 200 series King Air. SimuFlite training Dassault Falcon 20. My experiences are backed by education from the University of Denver where I earned my BA in International Business, Economics and Culture. Additional education through the University of Minnesota's journalism program and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical. My articles can be found at Plane & Pilot, Colorado Serenity magazine, Mountain Connection, Disciples of Flight, NYCAviation, Contrails, Airline Reporter, Consumer Affairs, Flying.com, LinkedIn, Mentor and Business Insider. Aviation expert on NPR's Public Insight Network.

PUBLISHER: Behler Publications

LITERARY AGENT ONLY: Roger Williams

LITERARY AGENCY: NEPA | New England Publishers Association

CONTACT: Erika Armstrong

erika@achickinthecockpit.com

303.838.2707