• You wanted to become a diver, and you became a pilot. You wanted to become a fighter pilot, you became a helicopter pilot. But second choices didn't deter you.

The message is that you must take advantage of whatever life hands you. You become good at something, you enjoy it, and it opens doors that you never expected. If you think you didn't get what you wanted and feel bad about it, you wind up missing out or not being able to excel. Instead, you should take advantage of what life hands to you.

• You may get your second-best choice, but you can become the best at it. Tell us about the influence Top Gun and Tom Cruise had on you.

I was graduating from college when that movie came out and I actually didn't know what being Top Gun was all about till I went and saw the movie. Then I saw jets flying around and that's what I wanted to do. I thought it was the coolest thing ever done and I put that as my first choice at a time options for women in the military were limited. I didn't get jets; I got helicopters. But I had a wonderful time flying them and I was able to get into test pilot school, which allowed me to become a test pilot.

• I believe you were a tough test pilot. Did you sometimes knock your trainees on the heads or knees or knuckles?

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