Flying Free

My Victory over Fear to Become the First Latina Pilot on the US Aerobatic Team

By: Cecilia Aragon

Narrated by: Roxanne Hernandez

The daughter of a Chilean father and a Filipina mother, Cecilia Rodriguez Aragon grew up as a shy, timid child in a small Midwestern town during the 1960s. Targeted by school bullies and dismissed by many of her teachers, she worried that people would find out the truth: that she was INTF. Incompetent. Nerd. Terrified. Failure. This feeling stayed with her well into her 20s when she was told that “girls can’t do science” or “women just don’t know how to handle machines”.

Yet in the span of just six years, Cecilia became the first Latina pilot to secure a place on the United States Unlimited Aerobatic Team and earn the right to represent her country at the Olympics of aviation, the World Aerobatic Championships. How did she do it?

Using mathematical techniques to overcome her fear, Cecilia performed at air shows in front of millions of people. She jumped out of airplanes and taught others how to fly. She learned how to fundraise and earn money to compete at the world level. She worked as a test pilot and contributed to the design of experimental airplanes, crafting curves of metal and fabric that shaped air to lift inanimate objects high above the earth. And best of all, she surprised everyone by overcoming the prejudices people held about her because of her race and her gender.

Flying Free is the story of how Cecilia Aragon broke free from expectations and rose above her own limits by her passion for flying with math and logic in unexpected ways. You don’t have to be a math whiz or a science geek to learn from her story. You just have to want to soar.

©2020 Cecilia Aragon (P)2020 Blackstone Publishing

Very inspiring story

As a software engineer who used to scared of flying but also ended up flying aerobatic competition myself, I absolutely love this book! Cecilia’s amazing resume in both computer science and aerobatics is not new to me at all, but I had no idea how many challenges she had to overcome to achieve all those things until listening to this book. Reading her story makes me want to work harder and fly more aerobatic practice.

Accurate and inspiring!

Cecilia shares an excellent story of her journey through the world of competition aerobatics and personal growth.

This story is amazing!

You will feel the fear, pair, and exhilarating joy that Cecilia finds when she faces her fears! I highly recommend this book!!

Inspirational

Inspirational. Great read. This should be taught in high schools. This is a great story of overcoming adversity and bullying through determination and growing confidence.

The reader does an amazing job.

Inspiring story

Flying Free is an inspirational story on several levels. If you love aviation, you’ll be inspired by Cecilia‘s journey to fly and then to do aerobatics at the highest level. In addition, it’s inspiring just hearing about the obstacles and challenges she overcame in her young life to reach the goals that she did. I loved Flying Free.

This Should be a movie

loved it! This should be a movie! The bit of technical data along with the your mental progression through the challenges were amazing. excellent book.

Conquer Fear in Any Discipline

A mentor of mine recommended Cecilia’s book “Flying Free” while at Oshkosh Airventure, and I just completed it.

I tend to play SO small, and with SO much fear in my flying. There are bursts of motivation, and I can see that the natural ability is there, but I continually underestimate myself. Badly. And a stop-start-stop-start-stop cycle ensues. Which is discouraging mentally, emotionally, progress wise, and monetarily.

Cecilia’s work has been absolutely inspiring in the best of ways.

Thank you. It has MASSIVELY shifted my thinking.

I recommend it to anyone who struggles to work past their fears to live life fully free.