Octaviyanti Blandina Ronsumbre may not look like she's from Eastern Indonesia. But the 26-year-old comes from Biak on Papua's north coast ' and she's the first woman from Papua to earn her wings as an aviator.

Affable and outgoing, Vivin, as she is called, beamed with pleasure as she was interviewed in a hotel in Abepura, Jayapura.



'If you asked me whether I always wanted to be a pilot, my answer is that I became an aviator because I failed in my application for the post of flight attendant,' Vivin said.



She is the youngest of the three children of Yakobus Ronsumbre from Biak and Susilowati. Vivin's parents met when Yakobus was assigned by flag carrier Garuda Indonesia to Susilowati's hometown of Surabaya, East Java.



Growing up, Vivin always dressed up as a flight attendant for carnivals, she says. However, by senior high school, she took to wearing a pilot's uniform. Her eldest brother, Yonnas, is a pilot for Garuda Indonesia.



However, she was rejected when she applied to be a flight attendant, Vivin said. 'Garuda Indonesia requires a body height of 160 centimeters, while I was only 158 centimeters.'



'I went home in tears, not knowing what other jobs would suit me,' Vivin said.



However, Yonnas encouraged her to try her luck ' in the cockpit.



'At first I doubted if I could be a pilot, but my brother kept supporting and motivating me. I applied for the position and finally

succeeded,' Vivin said. 'I wouldn't be flying had I ignored the suggestion of my brother.'



The high price of pilot training didn't dampen the determination of Vivin ' or her parents. 'It costs Rp 560 million to be a pilot, but my firm will prompted my whole family to strive to make it happen,' Vivin said.



She trained at Nusa Flying International School at Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport in East Jakarta from 2010 to 2011. Training wasn't easy, Vivin said ' especially when it came to landings.



'I could fly the plane but found it hard to land, which almost forced me to give up. My brother again gave me motivation and roused my spirit until I finally made it. I realized that with strong will and determination, nothing is impossible,' she assured.





As for landings, Vivin finally aced things while flying solo on her 18th flight. 'At the time, I was doing it on my own, with no instructor beside me, and I managed to fly for 20 minutes before landing.'



From personal experience, Vivin knew why few Papuans, particularly women, become aviators.



'The big cost also poses a constraint. Some start pilot school, but lack perseverance, causing them to drop out.



Vivin started flying cargo planes for PT Trigana Airservice in Papua in 2011.



As an aviator, Vivin has the courage, reflexes and skill needed to fly in and out of Wamena ' an airport that sits in a valley at an elevation of over 5,000 feet. It's also surrounded by peaks that top 10,000 feet that make instrument approaches almost impossible, according to other flyers.



As a person, Vivin shows a flexible, friendly and persevering attitude that has impressed other pilots at PT Trigana Air Service, where she was previously based out of Sentani Airport.



One Trigana pilot, Andika Bagaskara, said that he didn't expect to see a woman in the cockpit when he was assigned to fly a Boeing 727 on the cargo run to Wamena.



''Vivin is my senior and at the same time a friend with who I can discuss problems and share stories,' Andika says. 'She's a hard worker and concerned about her colleagues. When I feel unwell, she'll tell me to rest and take over my duties.'



'I'm very proud to have a woman cargo pilot ' even more so, as she's a Papuan,' Andika adds.



'Vivin has helped a lot and shared her experience with me as her junior.'



Susilowati, who said she burst into tears when she first heard that Vivin wanted to be a flight attendant, now speaks

with pride.



'I'm very proud of my daughter, who's able to fly aircraft,' Susilowati said. 'I'm proud because a Papuan woman has become a pilot.'



Meanwhile, Vivin, who has been flying passenger aircraft in Jakarta since January, says that she hopes more Papuan women will earn their wings.



'There's no difference in aviation between men and women,' she says. 'All the tasks and jobs are the same - for both sexes.'

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This article expands on one of the writer's chapters published in Mereka, Bukan Perempuan Biasa (They Are Not Ordinary Women), published by GKM