Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Nicole Scherer

Nicole Scherer is a U.S. Navy helicopter pilot from Malvern, Pennsylvania. Her dad taught her that flying is an art, not a science; her mom reminded her to write it all down. She is currently stationed in Japan.

Stories from Nicole Scherer

The author uses a grease pencil to note pallets delivered to a cruiser in the Atlantic, where she deployed with Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Light 46 in 2011.

What Keeps Pilots Up at Night

Flying in the dark can play tricks on your senses.

In 2012, Navy Lieutenant Nicole Scherer flew a Sikorsky SH-60B Seahawk cross-country to its likely-final resting place: the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base boneyard.

Saying Goodbye to My Seahawk

The day I had to leave my SH-60B helicopter at the boneyard.