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Five seconds. Try to lift off smoothly and rotate to 15 degrees pitch up within five seconds. That’s the ideal takeoff. And we always aim for ideal.

These are the thoughts running through my head as I sit in the First Officer’s seat in the cockpit of the Airbus A330, accelerating down the runway for take-off, at the controls for the first time. The captain flew the first sector from Frankfurt to Riyadh, and now it is my turn to pilot this second, short 50-minute flight to Bahrain. 

Soon I hear the captain's com

mand, "Rotate", and I begin to lift the nose of our 160-tonne aircraft into the Saudi Arabian night sky. 

I've been waiting for this moment for a long time. It took me a few months of training to make the transition from short-haul to long-haul. Before that I'd spent 10 years flying the Airbus A320 around Europe. Now I feel ready to take on a new challenge. And lifting the A330 smoothly into the air in 5 seconds feels new, exciting, unlike anything else, yet pleasantly familiar.

My journey into aviation started quite early. I was about 12 or 13 years old when I decided I wanted to be a pilot. Unlike many other aviation enthusiasts, I had no key moment or memory that led me to this decision. I just knew. So I started researching and learned that you can start flying gliders as early as 14 (at least in Germany). I spent an entire summer at my local gliding club just making friends and watching the others fly, all to convince my parents to pay for my licence. At the age of 15 I finally took my first lessons and was soon flying solo. 

After leaving school, I applied to a European airline flight school, passed the admission tests and started my training shortly afterwards. 

It started with a full year of ground school before I sat the official theory exams for the Airline Pilot Licence. I then spent six months in the United States doing my PPL training to fly small single-engine aircraft. Once that was completed, I moved on to multi-crew training on a Cessna Citation jet. The training concluded with the Airbus A320 type rating in 2014.

Starting my long-haul journey now is a fantastic opportunity not only in terms of a new route network, exploring destinations and experiencing different operational challenges - it also means flying bigger, heavier, wide-body aircraft. Due to my airline's staffing plans, I will only be spending a few months on the A330 before moving on to the beautiful Airbus A350 - a super-modern, state-of-the-art, hyper-efficient long-haul jet that I can hardly wait to fly myself.

I am acutely aware of how fortunate my career has been so far, and I am immensely grateful for it. I consider myself very privileged to be able to live my dream. However, I must also acknowledge that I have faced some difficulties throughout my training.  

Not with a particular subject or flight - but with myself. For one thing, self-doubt and worry were my constant companions. The nagging question "What if I fail?" was in my head every step of the way. Then there was the imposter syndrome, which made me question my own abilities. Imposter syndrome is a psychological effect that causes people to doubt their achievements and fear being exposed as a fraud, despite clear evidence of their competence. I've spent years trying to convince myself that I'm not half as good as the pilots around me. And sometimes I still catch myself thinking like that today. In such situations, it helps me to realise that the syndrome does not reflect reality. 

In addition, any kind of exercise helps me to release any tension from my body. 

My wish for future generations of pilots, especially young girls, is that they don't have to deal with self-doubt and imposter syndrome so much. I think the most helpful step would be to normalise women in aviation so that they can be an inspiration to young girls. That way, women wouldn't always feel like an outlier in the industry. To achieve this, we need more visibility of female pilots, which can be created online, for example through social media.

Also, it is more important than ever to move away from stereotypical thinking when it comes to women pilots. There is no one way to be a female pilot, and aspiring candidates do not need to fit into a box to meet perceived expectations. If you're qualified for the job - come as you are. You like make-up? That's fine. You don't like make-up? That's fine too. Be yourself. Being authentic in your work is not a weakness, it is an asset. 

I also want student pilots to understand that struggling during flight training is not only normal - it is actually part of the training. It teaches you to keep going when you're frustrated, demotivated or overwhelmed. It shows you that pilots are humans too, and it is OK to feel these emotions sometimes. But it is important to get back up after a setback.

Staying focused and strong during flight training will teach you the resilience you need to take on the responsibility of flying a passenger aircraft with hundreds of people on board.

The air is calm during the final stages of our approach to Bahrain Airport. The approach lights shine brightly ahead as I hand-fly the A330 towards runway 30R. As we touch down, I set the thrust levers to reverse, the automatic brakes engage, and our A330 slows down to taxi speed. 

A wave of joy and relief washes over me and through my whole body. 

I love flying. I've always loved it. And I have a feeling that this love will last a lifetime.