Pilot chooses SiriusXM aviation at any speed
Emmy Dillon got the aviation bug early and started flying gliders with the Civil Air Patrol at 14. Her mom likes to joke that she could fly a plane before she could drive a car. Since then, her general aviation flying, and professional career have really taken off.
Emmy went to Embry Riddle and received a degree in human factors engineering and a minor in flight. After graduation, she went to work for Garmin Aviation as an aviation systems human factors engineer, but in her words got tired of flying a desk and went into corporate flying rising to the level of assistant chief pilot for a charter operator.
For Emmy, aviation is a 24/7 passion. She now flies a Boeing 777 for an international cargo carrier. When not flying professionally, she competes in the Air Race Classic - winning in 2016 - and flies Miss Mitchell a North American B–25, for the Commemorative Air Force and a Van's RV–4 out of Gillespie Field in San Diego.
With all of this experience, Emmy flies with SiriusXM Aviation because the quality of the radar data and the ability to see what’s ahead with no limitations. From her days flying corporate jets at Mach .92 or at 100 knots in the RV–4 now, SiriusXM gives her the ability to actively plan for the weather ahead whether she is in the air or on the ground.
One of her best memories of flying with SiriusXM Aviation was in the 2023 Air Race Classic. The race that year went from Texas to Florida and pop-up storms were a concern, so Emmy relied on SiriusXM’s Base Reflectivity radar to help avoid them. Base Reflectivity Radar is from the lowest tilt and shows what precipitation is coming out of the bottom of the storm cell. It is especially beneficial for pilots flying under 10,000 feet as it more closely matches what you are seeing outside of the cockpit.
When Emmy is flying the RV–4 with a six pack, she uses a Garmin GDL 52 portable weather receiver paired with ForeFlight to look for the best tailwinds and monitor the weather because the weather can get bad even in San Diego, CA.
To learn more about Emmy and how she got to 2,500 hours and is still building, watch her story here .
If you are like Emmy and need SiriusXM Aviation weather for your next flight, check out a Garmin SiriusXM portable weather receiver. Plus, if you purchase an eligible receiver before July 31 and activate it with a SiriusXM Aviation subscription, you can receive a $400 rebate. The Garmin SiriusXM portable weather receivers are compatible with the Garmin Pilot and ForeFlight apps. To find out which portable receiver is right for you, visit sportys.com/sxmoffer.
