By Rebecca Drew
MEET the smoking hot helicopter pilot in training who shares her glamorous lifestyle with nearly sixty thousand Instagram followers.
Breath-taking images show brunette bombshell, Luana Torres (27), also known as Pilot Luana, from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, taking off in her chopper, posing on the runway and making a final check of her controls. Other envy-inducing shots show the stunner at Disneyland and relaxing at Arizona’s Horseshoe Bend.
Incredible cockpit video footage shows Luana, who is also an economics graduate, setting off on her nerve-wracking first solo flight and enjoying the views from the passenger’s seat. Luana flies a Robinson R22 and Robinson R44.
“My older brother is a helicopter pilot and I grew up listening to him talking about helicopters and he also married a female helicopter pilot. So, I have my brother and my sister-in-law as examples,” said Luana.
“Before I found out that I wanted to become a pilot, I graduated in economics and while I was in university I went on a family trip to Australia and there I flew in a helicopter for the first time.
“From that moment on, I knew that my future would belong in the skies and more specifically being a helicopter pilot. As soon I graduated I searched for a flight school and started to chase my dream.
“Once you have tasted the feeling of flying, walking and seeing things from the ground are not enough anymore.
“The helicopter industry is not as big as the aeroplane industry so I get a lot of invitations from helicopter companies and flight schools asking me to fly with them. I’ve been doing this for a year and I’ve already flown to several places including places in the United States and Canada.”
Luana has visited 28 countries so far and initially started her Instagram page to track her training.
“I fly small helicopters, like R22s and R44s, and inside those helicopters you’re able to see everything, including what’s below you. You’re able to land practically wherever you want to, you are able to go to zero airspeed and capture the awesome landscapes perfectly and you can control it in any direction you want to, including backwards,” added Luana.
“People get a little surprised when they see a woman helicopter pilot but they are always nice about it.
“It’s funny because I started my Instagram as a personal account to help people and to share my training.
“It’s amazing how we have built a nice community with so many pilots all over the world and so many nice people. They sometimes don’t realise how happy they make me with their kind and supportive messages.
“I get a lot of messages from people who want to become a pilot asking for tips or just saying that my Instagram was their first step to knowing the aviation and helicopter industry better.
“Don’t ever give up on your dreams, it’s never too late as long as you have the motivation to start.”
For more information see www.instagram.com/pilotluana
