Usually, children follow in their parents’ footsteps, but Ashley Delhotal ’20 decided to follow her mom’s flight path.
Suzanne Delhotal started the family’s legacy in the sky when she became a commercial pilot in the 1980s. Unfortunately, her time in the air was cut short when she developed multiple sclerosis (MS). However, years later her youngest daughter, Ashley, continued this legacy.
Suzanne got Ashley in the pilot’s seat for the first time when she was just 15 years old.
“We would always joke that I’d get my pilot license before my driver’s license,” said Delhotal.
Yet, despite her family’s history, Delhotal found she didn’t enjoy flying as much as her mother hoped. Her lack of interest in the hobby led Delhotal to receive her driver’s license well before her pilot’s license and pursue career options that were a bit more grounded.
“I kept changing my mind about what I wanted to do. I started thinking I wanted to work in the medical field. So, I became a CNA to build up my medical hours,” said Delhotal. “However, I soon realized I didn’t want to work in the medical field, but I knew I wanted to pursue my bachelor’s degree.”
Delhotal decided to pursue her associate degree at Kishwaukee College before transferring to receive her bachelor’s degree. Simultaneously, she decided she wanted to explore flying as a hobby rather than as a career and began taking lessons at a nearby flight school.
“When I started flying as a hobby to get my pilot’s license, I discovered I really loved it,” said Delhotal. “When it was time for me to transfer to ISU, I wanted to come home on the weekend to continue my lessons, but I had too much on my plate. I decided to put it on hold until I graduated.”
When she transferred to Illinois State in spring 2019, Delhotal decided to major in communication studies with an emphasis on organizational leadership. She spent the next two years focusing on her studies in the School of Communication before graduating in spring 2020 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
After graduating, Delhotal was offered a job at Nexstar Media in Rockford as an account executive, and when she wasn’t working in the office or meeting with clients, she could be found in the clouds. Now, that she was done with school, Delhotal was committed to getting that pilot’s license she’d started working toward as a teenager.
“After saving money for a couple of months, I started taking flying lessons again as a hobby,” said Delhotal. “Every other day after work, I was going to flight school. Then, one day after work, I was sitting in the parking lot, and I thought, ‘Why am I not doing this as a job? I obviously love it if I still have the motivation to go do it after a long day at work.’”
Nearly a year into her career in media, Delhotal had her eyes set on the sky, but first, she had to earn her private pilot’s license. To do this, she had to complete her checkride, a final exam from the Federal Aviation Administration that includes an oral portion and a hands-on flying portion. If Delhotal passed this checkride, she would officially have her private pilot’s license, which would allow her to fly passengers on single-engine land airplanes.
After passing her checkride with flying colors, Delhotal knew exactly who her first passenger would be, the woman who started her family’s legacy in the sky, her mother Suzanne. When they shared that flight together, Delhotal knew she was ready to take the next step and dive headfirst into a career as a pilot, even if it required a location change. Three days later, she said goodbye to her account executive job, packed her bags, and headed across the country to Denver, where she spent the next six months at ATP Flight School.
“ATP is a very fast-tracked way to get your ratings to fly different types of planes. Because you get about six ratings in a matter of six months, it’s very, very fast paced. It becomes your entire life,” said Delhotal. “You can’t work or do anything outside of focusing on flying, but I knew if I didn’t do this now, I was never going to. It was just going to be a different excuse each time, and I didn’t want to get 10 years down the road and wonder why I didn’t take this chance.”
Once Delhotal finished her six months at ATP, she still needed to build up her required flight hours to 1,500 to be eligible to fly for commercial airlines. To help accrue these hours, Delhotal used her Certified Flight Instructor License (CFI) to give flying lessons to aspiring pilots. She soon moved from Denver to St. Louis, where a new ATP location had just opened.
“It’s the scariest job, but I honestly learned the most from working as a flight instructor because you have to watch your students mess up, be able to correct them, comfort them, and teach them the right way to do it,” said Delhotal. “It’s tough work, but you gain so much from it.”
While teaching there, Delhotal was offered a position at another flight school, the United Aviate Academy located in Phoenix, where she worked for a year before completing her 1,500 hours.
“Right after I got done with my 1500 hours, I went straight to flying regional flights, which you have to do before you fly the larger main-line flights,” said Delhotal. “Essentially, you’re working for big name airlines, but under a different operator with smaller planes and smaller legs. I’m over here flying from Houston to Corpus Christi, Texas or Austin to San Antonio to Houston.”
Delhotal and a friend named Chelsea, who she met when they were students together at ATP Flight School. They then became flight instructors together in Phoenix. 
Delhotal during her time as a flight instructor at the United Aviate Academy. 
Delhotal after her last checkride at ATP Flight School. 
Delhotal’s last day as a flight instructor after completing her 1500 hours. 
Delhotal in the cockpit of an E-175 after completing her checkride. 
Ashley and her mom Suzanne in Redbird gear.
For the past six months, Delhotal has been living between Minnesota and Texas, where she stays for a couple of weeks out of the month depending on her flight schedule. Every day as a Redbird in flight looks different for Delhotal. Some days she’ll have flights scheduled to pilot, and other days, she’ll be airport reserved, where she is at the ready at the airport, if they need her to step in and pilot a flight due to delays or illnesses with other pilots.
On those days when she’s up in the sky, Delhotal is still putting to use the communication skills she learned at Illinois State.
“Whenever I tell someone in the aviation field that I got my degree in communication, they tell me how beneficial that is. When I’m flying, I’m spending hours with my captain and the crew, and I have to be able to communicate with them,” said Delhotal. “I’m also constantly using the skills I learned in my nonverbal class to see how people react and be more in-tune to what’s happening.”
Eventually, Delhotal hopes to put these skills to use on longer flights and bigger planes, but for now, she’s taking in every moment as a Redbird in the sky and ready to see where her next flight will take her.
