1st woman to graduate from UCA Aviation Academy is from Prairie Grove

Prairie Grove native Rhiannon Umfleet is the first woman to graduate from the University of Central Arkansas Aviation Academy with her private license, instrument rating and commercial license. She is pursuing certification as a certified flight instructor and plans to work as a pilot instructor for UCA.

“Rhiannon was one of our first students,” UCA Aviation Academy Director Brad Teague said. “She has always been fully engaged in everything we do at the academy. She started with no background or experience in aviation and has thrived. I am thrilled that she is one of our first graduates and the first female.”

Umfleet was the only woman in the first cohort of the UCA Aviation Academy and received the Annie Fitzgerald Award in 2024. The scholarship was named in honor of a retired Southwest Airlines pilot who partners with the Aviation Academy to recruit future pilots.

“At first, I shied away from focusing on being the only woman in the program,” Umfleet said. “But Miss Annie showed me the importance of embracing it and being a role model for young girls who may want to do this one day.”

Umfleet is studying finance in UCA’s College of Business. She moved to Northwest Arkansas at a young age and had planned on becoming an aerospace engineer. After high school, while working full-time and taking community college classes, she realized a desk job wasn’t for her.

“I didn’t want to be in a space like that for the rest of my life,” she said. “I wanted a job where I could move, grow, do different things and be outside. I thought, ‘Might as well fly the things. That sounds a lot cooler.’”

After her mom sent her a Facebook ad about UCA’s new aviation program, Umfleet signed up and moved to Conway to start ground school. By June 2024, she had piloted her first solo flight.

“I was in the downwind, and I was finally able to fully look up and take it all in,” Umfleet said. “Just to look over and see that right seat empty, I felt pure excitement coursing through my body like ‘I can’t believe I’m up here, 1,500 feet in the air by myself.’”

Umfleet completed the private license first, as is customary in flight training. She then started work on the instrument rating, which allows holders to fly by sole reference to the aircraft’s instruments. This teaches a greater mastery of aircraft control, systems and instrumentation. It also permits flights under instrument flight rules. This rating takes a minimum of 35 hours.

She also completed the commercial license, which allows recipients to fly for hire under certain conditions. The Federal Aviation Administration requires a minimum of 190 hours of accumulated flight time, including specific hours of experience in several areas such as night flying, cross-country and enhanced maneuvers.

Umfleet provided the following advice for those considering aviation: “Don’t be scared of how hard everyone says it is. It’s challenging, but the rewards are worth it.”

The UCA Aviation Academy offers new classes every three months. Multiple pilot certifications are available, including private, commercial, and instructor licenses, instrument and multi-engine ratings. Discovery flights are available for those considering enrolling in the program.

UCA launched the Aviation Academy in March 2024. The program selects 15 students for each cohort with three private pilot classes starting each year. More than 400 applications are on file. The academy has three Tecnam P-Mentors and one Cessna 172, and eight instructors.