It's not often that the idea to become a pilot hits someone as they jump out of a plane a few thousand feet above the ground. For Lana Huetson, it made absolute sense as she leapt out of the plane during her first - and only - sky diving experience. 

Having never flown on a commercial jet, Huetson's first flight was on a small plane. 

The senior aviation major at the University of Nebraska-Omaha fulfilled a dream, only to have an epiphany as she parachuted back to earth. 

"I really hated jumping out of the plane," said Huetson. "But, I really liked the plane part. I was like, 'This is cool.' I could see Lincoln all the way from Crete. I didn't know you could see everything up there. So, I got really interested and hooked from there." 

Originally a pre-med student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Huetson decided to tell her parents that she didn't want to become a doctor; instead, she saw herself piloting a plane. 

"I didn't know what I wanted to do out of high school, and my parents were like, 'We want a doctor in the family,'" she said. "I can do that. And then I decided I really hated it. Then, I found aviation." 

Huetson was among about a dozen people, most of them UNO aviation students, participating in a Women in Aviation event at the Jet Linx hangar, near Eppley Airfield. 

Jet Linx is an Omaha-based company that connects clients with charter flights at a fraction of what it takes to own and maintain a jet. 

While her parents are supportive, her mom wasn't initially sure she should switch majors from pre-med to aviation, Huetson said. 

"I kind of had to lie to her and said, 'Don't worry, Mom, pilots make good money, too...ish,'" she said. 

Huetson, who has completed about 400 of the 1,000 flight hours she needs to become a certified commercial pilot, plans to become a flight instructor after college in order to meet the requirement. 

With women making up about 10% of all pilots in the United States - about 91,000 out of 850,000 - they account for only 6% of airline pilots, according to Women in Aviation International. 

Jet Linx, like other companies, seeks to increase that number, said Ashley Allisma, regional vice president. Allisma manages hangar operations in Omaha and at a Minnesota airport. 

Recruiting female pilots to a charter airline presents challenges that a commercial carrier may not experience, Allisma said. 

While commercial pilots typically have a set schedule, Jet Linx pilots are guaranteed eight days off per month, where they can't be scheduled for flights, she said. They're on standby on the other days, which can impact women more than men, Allisma said. 

"If you've got young kids at home, those are challenges that I think women have, especially in the workforce, so being a mom and being on the road a lot is hard," she said. 

Interaction with female pilots is key to increasing interest, said Ella Stamp, a UNO senior, who serves as president of the school's Women in Aviation chapter. 

“I don’t think there is enough outreach," Stamp said. "I don’t think there is enough light on it. You don’t really see a lot of women in the cockpit, so young girls getting on planes, that’s not something they’re exposed to, so it’s not something they think that they can do. So, I think events like this, organizations like Women in Aviation, are really important for that reason.” 

Despite the number of women enrolled in college aviation matching the industry's low numbers, UNO students have seen an increase in women studying to become pilots, Huetson said. 

With 301 aviation students in the 2024-25 academic year, UNO saw an increase from 228 students over a three-year period. Almost 20% of the '24-25 flight services graduates were women, up from 13% in 2022-23, according to the University of Nebraska-Omaha.

Nationally, women pilots are growing in number, according to the Pilot Institute. Between 2013 and 2016, numbers remained stagnant, but beginning in 2017, the industry has seen steady growth, with a 189% jump in female student pilots, the organization reported. 

After taking her first commercial flight four years ago, Stamp decided to pursue a bachelor's degree in aviation. She didn't have a role model whom she admired at the time, Stamp said. 

"Now that I'm kind of in the industry, there are female pilots on social media who I follow, who I really look up to," she said. 

While the number of female pilots remains underrepresented, women remain a strong presence industrywide, such as flight engineers, parachute riggers and mechanics, the Pilot Institute reported. 

While pilots remain a focal point in aviation, charter companies such as Jet Linx rely on strong customer service to meet the needs of clients. 

Jet Linx has a dedicated team of customer relations specialists that arrange the logistics of a flight, to ensure every trip is correctly quoted, trip information is properly handled, and, along with catering, ground transportation is well-managed, Allisma said. 

"Taking care of everything, pretty much from start to finish," she said. 

With jets operating out of 20 cities across the United States, including Minneapolis, Dallas, Miami and San Antonio, Jet Linx can take passengers wherever they need to travel. 

Jet Linx manages about 100 private aircraft for its owners rather than owning its own fleet. When the jets aren't used by their owners, Jet Linx rents them to customers. 

With 1,000 square feet, the Omaha hangar can host up to 13 aircraft - from propeller planes to jets - at any time, Allisma said. 

One airplane, a Challenger 604, can seat up to 14 people, she said. The jet has been used to fly clients to Ireland, Allisma said. 

With a flight crew dedicated to each plane, clients get to know and trust the pilots and attendants, she said.

Rather than contract with a maintenance company, Jet Linx has a full-time staff, Allisma said. 

"The great thing about our in-house maintenance is that we have pilots who are very close with this team," she said. "So any little nuance that's going on, they are working really intimately with our maintenance team to make sure that we are resolving the issue, that we're staying on top of it. It's quickly solved." 

Jet Linx has experienced major growth since opening in 1992. Its clients have experienced changes in their travels, as well, Allisma said. 

"A lot of our aircraft owners have been with us for a really long time," she said. "Omaha is kind of our flagship base. Our headquarters is here. Our aircraft owners, a lot of them, have started out in smaller aircraft and have evolved over the years to larger and larger aircraft. So it's cool to watch the progression of their aircraft journey."

Tim Trudell is a freelance writer and online content creator. His work has appeared in Flatwater Free Press, Next Avenue, Indian Country Today, Nebraska Life, Nebraska Magazine, Council Bluffs Daily Non-Pareil and Douglas County Post Gazette, among others. He is a citizen of the Santee Dakota Nation.