Kampala — SHE thought it was a car. But cars do not fly. "This thing" flew high up in the sky. Maggie Mutahi did not know what a helicopter was.

The first time she saw it, her brain raced with questions; how could such a big thing "drive" in the sky, without falling? She was a 10-year-old pupil at Nyeri Primary School in Kenya. That afternoon, a military helicopter had landed at their school.

Aboard was a parent visiting his child. He was a soldier and that was the fastest means before returning to combat.

As others gaped from afar, the skinny Mutahi moved close to watch this weird "thing".

"Everybody said, 'that is a helicopter'. It stuck in my mind and even as I went to high school, I kept thinking about helicopters," Mutahi recalls.

Today, this girl is a helicopter pilot with Everett Aviation, East Africa's top helicopter company.

Small and unassuming, you could miss her as she stridesacross the Kampala Serena Hotel lobby - where her company's country office is located. If it were not for her black and white uniform, one would think she was a student.

She is so small that many people wonder how she handles a helicopter. "I feel it is too big for her," said one colleague. But Mutahi responds: "You use your mind, your feet and arms. I love the challenge."

And this is what has made her society's de facto envoy of sorts. Mutahi has met everyone, from the former US president Bill Clinton to Mary J. Blight. And when the time came for these stars to take pictures, she stood alongside them as a qualified female pilot.

But it has been a long walk for this 32-year-old. When she decided to become a pilot, Mutahi faced many reactions. Some people said the job was too risky.

Her parents were apprehensive about the high tuition fees charged by aviation schools. For instance, the best deal was sh10,000 Kenyan shillings (about sh250,000) per hour, which was too much for her family. Her father was just a builder. But Mutahi believed this was her calling and she held on to her dream.

Luckily, she enrolled at the Nairobi-based US International University and in her last year of college, Mutahi moved to the US on the university's student- exchange programme. While in the US, she worked at night to earn an extra buck. In 2001 when she completed university, she started doing small flight courses. For the next five years, she did intense practical training and part- time flights at different aviation centres including Airport Riert in South Africa and Vanluyse Airport in California. Shortly after, she got a job at Twin Air Helicopter in the US and in 2006, she was teaching others how to fly.

Mutahi remembers her first flight with delight. It was a two-seater helicopter, with only her and the instructor. "It was scary, but it was as if I was in heaven," Mutahi says laughing.

And now, as a helicopter pilot, she can fly as high as 500ft without fear. "A lot of the time in aviation school, you are being taught how to handle emergencies," Mutahi says.

"The challenge with being a pilot is there is too much resource, a map must have every detail. If there is a mast that has just been put up, it must be on the map. And you, as a pilot, must check every detail, as you look at the compass," she says.

Has Mutahi had any scary trips? "Once," she says "It was cloudy, but it wasn't that bad."

She, however, admits she avoids flying over large water bodies and forests. "I would rather go around them."

Born in a family of six, in Nyeri in Kenya, Mutahi studied at Nyeri Primary School and Ngandu Girls Secondary School. Her father is 72, while her mother passed away. Her favourite pastime is playing the piano or reading books.

For Mutahi, there have been a lot of sacrifices along the way. Herjob makes it difficult for her to start a family. "I am always moving," she says, "but there is someone special."

The way it is, Mutahi has come a long, long way from Nyeri. She is no longer by any stretch of imagination - ordinary. She is a confident, woman who believes that girls can achieve anything they dream about.

"Don't say this profession is for men. You can do it," she says, before saying goodbye to me and flying off "this thing" that once looked like a car.