On the Fly - September 25 - NGPA - The Worldwide LGBTQ+ Aviation Community

Welcome to the September 2025 issue of On The Fly!

Friends---

This year, NGPA proudly celebrates 35 incredible years, growing our circle from a handful of pilots into a respected and influential voice in the aviation community. Our mission has always been clear: to build, support, and unite. Through millions in scholarship awards, hundreds of community events, career development programs, mentorship opportunities, and more, NGPA has become a pillar of the aviation community - making it possible for LGBTQ+ aviators to fly out of the closet with the confidence that we belong in aviation.

In Provincetown earlier this month, surrounded by a sold-out crowd of attendees at our annual Cape Cod Classic, I shared how NGPA has shown up for me throughout my time as a member. Whether it was in the aeronautical science tutoring lab, a pep-talk the night before a checkride, or an introduction that would open doors, NGPA has been part of my journey since the beginning. This organization has shaped me in so many ways – as I know it has for you as well. While we look back over our past 35 years, take a moment to do the same, and consider how NGPA has been a copilot along the way.

The NGPA is committed to supporting, uplifting, and protecting our members around the country and around the world. In face of an ever-changing political climate, continued threats against our members and our community, and rapidly advancing technology and access, it is more important than ever to ensure that your information and private details are protected.

This month, we saw cases of pilots' private information being leaked on public forums and social media, in an attempt to end careers, harass, and intimidate. We would like to remind our members that pilot's private information can be publicly accessible on the FAA website: https://amsrvs.registry.faa.gov/airmeninquiry/.

If you or a fellow member of our community would like to opt-out of your address available, you can do so by following the guidance laid out here:

https://www.faa.gov/pilots/lic_cert/change/releasability

Stay safe, and always remember that your NGPA community is available for assistance and support.

We are pleased to present a new feature, MENTORSHIP SPOTLIGHTS. The mentorship program is a fundamental tenet of the NGPA mission: to Build, Support, and Unite the LGBTQ+ Aviation community. The NGPA Ascend mentorship program, in collaboration with Qooper, allows for mentors and mentees to connect and achieve personal and professional growth.

For our first spotlight, we are thrilled to feature Rey Blais, NGPA mentee and new member to our organization.

Rey originally hails from South Africa, but is truly a woman of the world, living between South Africa, Italy, and eventually settling in Canada, where she currently resides. Although she knew that she would love to be a pilot from a very young age, financial constraints made it initially not viable. After graduating with a degree in Mathematics, however, her love of aviation continued to grow. Fast forward a few years, and she is now working on her Commercial Helicopter rating at Select Aviation College in Gatineau, Quebec.

Now well on her way to her ultimate goal of working for emergency response and search-and-rescue, Rey turned her sights on finding community within her new found world of aviation. This compelled her to join the NGPA Ascend Mentorship program.

Rey says that the mentorship program was instrumental in helping her find community, and navigate the cumbersome, often confusing bureaucracy of obtaining a helicopter license. She says that she appreciates that her mentors knew what it was like to live the queer experience in aviation, and provided her with accountability and moral support during her training. Some of the highlights of her mentorship experience included nailing the hover, and being able to send photos of her flying to her mentors. Although Rey is not in close vicinity to an NGPA local chapter, she still was able to feel connected to the LGBTQ+ aviation community through her mentors in the Ascend program, and recognizes that it was a "massive boost" to be able to connect with someone who can relate and give advice to her, even though they may be thousands of miles apart.

Rey is more than just an amazing new member of our community and an exceptional mentee, she is also the self-proclaimed "Queen of Sidequests." In addition to volunteering at an aviation museum in New Brunswick, she also has recently joined the Canadian Air Force Reserves. Just when you thought there weren't enough hours in the day, Rey surprises yet again as an accomplished athlete, playing cricket for the Canadian National League.

Rey, we're so excited to welcome you to our community and we can't wait to see you climb!

For our second Mentor Spotlight of the month, we are pleased to feature First Officer Jason Newsom!

Jason brings a little magic to all of his flights, which is fitting considering he was a professional magician prior to taking up flying! During the COVID-19 pandemic, a mentor of Jason's suggested that he attend ATP Flight School, which had a location near him. A long-time aviation enthusiast, Jason saw flight school as an opportunity to expand his horizons and follow his passion.

During flight school, Jason discovered NGPA through our scholarship program. He quickly realized that the NGPA was a community where he would feel welcome, and provided him with personal and networking opportunities to further his new career.

As an instructor, Jason worked diligently to build his hours as a member of United's Aviate program, before moving on to Mesa Airlines in 2023, based out of IAH in Houston. The move to Houston set the stage for his career to flourish, and he began to turn his sights to mentoring fellow aviators, as he was mentored by trusted pilot friends before. He says that mentoring was his way of "paying it forward."

Jason shares that one of the most rewarding parts of the Ascend mentorship program is answering upcoming aviator's questions, and realizing just how far he has come in just a few short years. He found it satisfying to pass on the knowledge he learned during his own journey, and takes immense pride in watching his mentees navigate their own aviation journeys. One of his favorite memories from being a mentor was when his mentee shared that he had begun instructing, as Jason had had the opportunity to watch him grow from his first check-ride as a private pilot to now instructing the next generation.

Jason exemplifies exactly what makes the NGPA mentorship program so special. He said that for mentors, "consistency is key," and reaching out to students who may not know all of the resources available to them is one of the most important traits a successful mentor can have. He emphasizes that, for many mentees just starting out, they may not know about all of the options available to them in a career in aviation, and it may take a caring mentor to point them in the right direction. As he puts it, being a mentor is his way of honoring his mentors who helped him find his way during the early stages of his career.

Jason is planning on upgrading to Captain at Mesa soon to build important PIC time before moving on to his dream position at United. No matter where his career takes him, he says he looks forward to mentoring new aviators wherever he goes. Way to go Jason!

From: General Aviation News

Rick Rzepka, a pilot and dentist in Cleveland, Ohio, has found a way to combine two of his passions: Flying and eating. With a lot of help from his wife, Vikki, Rick has launched Fly-n-Eat, an app that lists airport restaurants.

The couple believe once pilots start using the app, it will change how they fly — or more specifically where they fly.

“I think this app is going to change not so much the way they fly, but they’re just going to be flying in all new directions that they were not expecting,” Rick says. “Everything is a new adventure.”

“Everybody talks about the $100 hamburger, which probably now is a $300 hamburger,” he continues. “The app gives people a new place to go and to test not only their taste buds, but their piloting skills, as well, as they fly into new airports.”

The app also has the potential to introduce new people to general aviation, Vikki adds.

“It’s an adventure for anyone and everyone,” she says. “Often Rick has friends who obviously know he’s a pilot and has a plane and they’ll call and ask if they can go flying. It’s a great people connector and for those people who are a bit skittish about flying, it becomes an adventure for them.”

We are thrilled to announce that for the next 6 months, Fly-n-Eat is generously offering NGPA members a 20% discount on a yearly subscription, by using the code FLYNGPA at checkout.

Don't forget to tag @wearengpa and @flyneat_ to share your next $100 hamburger!