Miss Vermont, Erin Connor, Is A Licensed Pilot

Here's one way to shatter the stereotype of a Miss America contestant. Miss Vermont, Erin Connor, got into a private airplane and flew herself and two passengers to an airport just outside Atlantic City, NJ for the annual pageant.

Connor said she likes to make an entrance "anywhere I go," according to a report from Fox News.

Connor won the title of Miss Vermont in April, and has completed more than 70 public appearances in her role. She is one of 51 contestants who will be competing for the title of "Miss America" over three days of preliminary events culminating with the televised finale September 10.

The Press of Atlantic City reports that Connor arrived at Atlantic City International Airport in a Piper Arrow. She traveled more than 350 miles from Vermont to New Jersey with a stop in upstate New York. She was wearing her grandfather's WWII uniform shirt and aviator sunglasses when the stepped onto the tarmac.

Connor earned her pilot certificate at the age of 16 at the Vermont Flight Academy at Vermont Technical College, for which she received credits toward her high school diploma. Aviation is one of the key planks of her platform "Tailwinds: training a new generation of women scientists."

Pageant observers believe this is the first time a contestant has ever flown herself to the annual event.

(Image from Twitter)

FMI: Original Story