From the Flight Deck

Her older sister gets the credit.

“My sister bought me a discovery flight on a whim. After that first flight, I knew.”

So says Andrea Hewett, a highly personable 32-year-old who recently joined the close-knit team at Shoreline Aviation as a certified flight instructor.

You might remember Andrea. She was featured in a piece we did a year ago, how she and four other women bonded while engaging in flight training at Shoreline. And bond they did.

“I think it is just really empowering to have a group of female pilots, all at different places in our aviation pursuits and with a range of different goals, but here to support each other all the same,” Andrea said at the time. “Some of us get together for study dates. We celebrate everyone’s wins, whether that be one of us passing a check ride or completing the first solo. It is overall just fun to have this diverse and smart group of women here to witness each other’s journeys and cheer each other on from the sidelines.”

Taking flight

Andrea was 23 at the time of her discovery flight in 2018, which was taken with Shoreline Aviation at Marshfield Airport. She had earned her bachelor’s degree in Organizational Sciences at George Washington University and was working as a financial analyst for a private equity fund when the bug hit.

“I told my parents that office work was not for me, and said I wanted to fly for a career,” the Hingham native said. “My parents supported my career pivot to aviation. ‘How can we help?’ they said. They could not have been more supportive. I couldn’t have done it without them.”

In addition to her older sister, Andrea has a younger brother and an active grandmother. “My Grandma is so cool,” she said. “She went up in a biplane in New Zealand when she was in her late 70s.”

Pilot Andrea Hewett joins Shoreline Aviation as a CFI.

Andrea went back to school, this time to Metropolitan State University of Denver, where she earned her bachelor of Aviation and Aerospace Science degree, while working in the food service industry. She says she earned her private pilot’s license in 2019 (flying a Cessna 152), her instrument certification in 2020 (Cessna 172), and her commercial license in 2021 (Pipers), the year her dad passed away. She moved back to the South Shore in 2024 to earn her flight instructor certification, which she did at Shoreline in the company’s Piper Warriors. “When I decided to get my flight instructor certificate,” she said, “I knew I wanted to come home and get it here, where I started my journey.”

She’s planning to earn her multi-engine certification by the end of the year.

Adventures by air

Her biggest flight adventures so far include flying from Rocky Mountain Metro Airport in Denver to Santa Fe, New Mexico, through La Veta Pass in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of southern Colorado. Also, flying with Shoreline CFI Riley McDonnell on a New York City skyline tour. “That was beautiful,” she said. “Flights like that keep the motivation alive.”

Andrea Hewett flies with Shoreline CFI Riley McDonnell on a New York City skyline tour. “Flights like that keep the motivation alive.” Photo courtesy of Andrea Hewett

For her commercial cross-country flight, Andrea flew about 430 miles to Amarillo, Texas, from Denver. “I also flew to a family wedding from here to Ticonderoga, New York, in a Warrior last summer,” she said.

Having become so fascinated with aviation from her discovery flight eight years ago, Andrea says she’s taken lots of prospective students up for their own discovery flights. And she loves teaching students and welcomes more.

On a personal level, Andrea wants to continue doing fun cross-country flights. “New England is a beautiful place to enjoy vacation,” she said. “I would love to take a leaf-peeping flight to Vermont.”

The view of New York from Andrea’s window. Photo courtesy of Andrea Hewett

Career vision

Professionally, she says she’s not sure where she’ll end up. “But I love flying here and want to learn to fly the Pilatus (Shoreline features Pilatus PC-12 series turboprops in its fleet, along with Citation 560XL series and Falcon 2000LX jets). I can see myself staying in corporate aviation forever. You develop close professional relationships with your team. I see myself thriving at a boutique aviation company.”

From her introductory flight to her CFI certification and now to her role as a flight instructor, Andrea has every reason to think of Shoreline Aviation like home.

“I’m really excited and happy to be here,” she said. “Getting hired by Shoreline was my dream come true. I still look around sometimes and marvel at the fact that I’m actually paid to fly airplanes. And at such a great company with awesome people to boot. We’ll see what the future holds.”

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About Shoreline Aviation

Shoreline Aviation Inc. has been offering premier aviation services for 45 years. An FAA Certified Air Carrier since 1981, Shoreline operates a versatile fleet of turboprop and jet aircraft. The company is headquartered in Marshfield, MA, where it is the Fixed Base Operator (FBO) at Marshfield Municipal Airport. Shoreline also has an office at Palm Beach. The company offers aircraft management, sales and acquisitions, executive and personal charter services, FBO services, aircraft maintenance, airport management services, flight lessons, and more. To learn more about Shoreline Aviation, call 888.291.JETS (5387), visit www.shorelineaviation.net, or email info@shorelineaviation.net.

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