[upbeat music]
- I am a 'Sconnie girl that's happy to be back home.
- Angela: Growing up in Wisconsin,
Zoe Davies has always been on a mission.
- Zoe Davies: I spent 15 years away from Wisconsin
after I graduated from high school.
I went to the Air Force Academy.
- Airman: Badger and Bucky, welcome.
It's a beautiful day out there.
- Angela: Today, she has landed on home turf.
- Airman: Here's your brief.
- Major Zoe Davies is a US Air Force fighter pilot
stationed at Truax Field in Madison.
- Zoe Davies: It was an opportunity to be able to come back here
that's pretty rare to be active duty
and serving with your Guard counterpart.
I really feel like I'm back in my hometown.
- Angela: This military assignment is in partnership
with the Wisconsin Air National Guard.
- Airman: Manage airspace, Bravo, 12-45 to 15-15.
- Pilot: Sweet.
- Airman: Enjoy, have fun.
[upbeat music]
- Angela: On this day,
her primary office will be the cockpit
of an F-16 fighter jet.
- It just looks mean.
It's slick; it's fast.
It's a supersonic aircraft.
It is extremely tactical and it's a 9G aircraft.
I have an absolute blast flying it.
[engine roaring]
- Angela: Zoe flies training missions
several times a month in the skies over Wisconsin.
- It's a kick in the pants and you never forget it
because when you pull onto the runway
and you get ready for takeoff
and you select "max afterburner,"
you still get pushed to the back of the seat.
But that's the point where you realize, like,
man, I'm really doing this.
[jet roaring]
I have a jet engine,
more so a rocket, attached to my back,
and I get to go do something awesome today.
[jet roaring]
And if you're not having a good day at that point,
I don't know what's gonna cheer you up.
- Angela: These training exercises
are preparing Zoe for a new military mission.
- Airman: This is Badger 3, then you have Bucky over here.
That guy just appeared outta nowhere.
- Zoe Davies: You know, when you're at 500 knots,
you have to react very quickly
to what's happening in your cockpit.
[plane roaring]
[energetic music]
- Angela: Flying in that air space over Wisconsin
brings a sense of pride and accomplishment.
- And I can't tell you
how much I have felt that,
specifically flying over my home state
and getting to recognize
the geographic features of Wisconsin.
Getting to fly over my hometown,
getting to fly over my mom's house.
It's the most patriotic thing that you can feel
to know that you're out there protecting your country.
- Angela: As a career fighter pilot,
Zoe has taken the high road,
earning the respect of her peers.
- There is no difference between
a female pilot and a male pilot.
We're just pilots.
- Angela: That's something Zoe learned at an early age,
and it would change the trajectory of her life.
- And so, it was actually at EAA, at Oshkosh,
one of the air shows when I was seven or eight
and the pilot pulled off their helmet
and long blonde hair fell out and it was a female pilot!
And that was when I realized
that that was actually something that I could,
could make happen.
So, from that point on, it was my goal.
*
Really, when it comes down to it,
it just takes hard work, motivation, and perseverance.
- Angela: Along with a fierce determination
to take what might have been
a little girl's pie-in-the-sky idea
and turn it into reality.
[upbeat music]
[plane whirring]
- When you have just that flash of a second to think,
"I can't believe I'm doing this,"
those are the times
that I feel like I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be.
It is every bit exciting.
It is every bit rewarding
and it is every bit difficult as I anticipated it to be.
I think it's pretty awesome!
[upbeat music]