The current Carbon County Fair Queen recently took a big step in her aviation career.

Jordan Behrens, who was crowned Carbon County Fair Queen in 2014, made her first solo flight on June 6 at the Jake Arner Memorial Airport in Lehighton.Behrens, age 21, from Jim Thorpe, is enrolled at Penn State Wilkes-Barre as a surveying engineering major. She is in the process of getting her pilot's license to get a job in aerial surveying."I want to get into agricultural or topographical surveying. If aerial surveying doesn't work out, I would want to be an airline pilot," Behrens said.Her interest in flying began a few years ago when her family went on a trip to Disney World."I was sitting in the airport waiting to get on our flight and I started thinking about how cool it would be to fly a plane on my own," Behrens said. From there, she decided to dedicate much of her time to learning how to fly.In November, Behrens began training with flight instructor Byron Arner at the Arner Memorial Airport. Since then, she has flown in a Piper PA-28 Cherokee Archer two to three days a week.On June 6, after doing routine dual flights with Arner, they discussed the possibility of Behrens flying on her own. "He felt I was ready, and he said if I was up to it I could go for it," Behrens said.Despite her nervousness, she made the jump and took to the skies as a solo pilot for the first time."It was amazing. I never thought I'd get to that point. I never thought I'd ever do it by myself," Behrens said. Her solo flight lasted about a half-hour before returning to the airfield.Arner has watched Behrens progress and remarked on the work she has put in."Jordan is excellent. She studies when I tell her to and always comes prepared. Her training is going well," Arner said.Behrens says she has about 30 of the 40 flight hours required to be eligible for the pilot's license test, and still needs more solo flight hours, solo cross-country flights and night landings.After that, she can take the written, oral and practical tests to get her license.