Many people only dream they could fly, but for local pilot Kim Ballantyne, she’s made it a reality.

Ballantyne knew at an early age she wanted to be a pilot and when she shared that with her family, they helped foster and nurture that goal. 

“I was four years old when I shared with my grandpa, Malcolm Crane, that I wanted to become a pilot when I grew up,” said Ballantyne. “He encouraged my dream right from the beginning.” 

It wasn’t an easy road to becoming a pilot. There were a lot of steps Ballantyne had to go through before she could start training. 

“I wanted to finish high school and university before I started with pilot training,” said Ballantyne. “After completing my education, I started my professional career. I had to get a medical done by a doctor first in order to be cleared to fly. Once I had enough resources to begin pilot training, I started researching different flight schools and their programs."

Read this story and more in this week's Opasquia Times!