NATASHA PAVLOVICH
Aviatrix
In February of 2004, Natasha made history in the Republic of Srpska by becoming the first Serbian woman to reach "The edge of space," by co-piloting a Mig-25 from Zukovsky Air Base in Russia to upwards to 86,000'. While at the edge, she waved the Russian, American, and Serbian flags to pay homage to her host country, birth country, and the country where she was raised and educated.
Natasha's interest in aviation began aboard her first flight from Belgrade, Serbia to Chicago, Illinois. Natasha enrolled in flight lessons with Justice Aviation in Santa Monica, Ca. and in 1998 earned her private pilots' license.
Natasha owned and flew a Beechcraft Bonanza. She has also had the privelege of flying in and doing acrobatic manuvers in a Dolphin 29 and a Pitts S-2B. Mostly, she was a private pilot and pilot in command of Cessna 172's.
In 2005, Sir Richard Branson of Virgin Group personally chose Natasha as a founding member of Virgin Galactic, the first commercial space flight company. Natasha completed extensive medical checks, classroom instruction, and centrifuge training in preparation for the space flight. One day, Natasha hopes to earn her astronaut wings from the Virgin Galactic flight.
After reading many female pilot books, Natasha gained a lot of respect for women pilots especially those who were WASP, or Women Airforce Service Pilots, who served in WWII. One of the highlights of her life was meeting and befriending an original WASP, Mrs. Mary Lou Colbert. Natasha has written a novel that she hopes to publish in the near future. Natasha supports the Kitty Hawk foundation, a charitable organization that introduces and promotes aviation for children.
