Vicky Chesna was doing well in real estate until four years ago when her career really got off the ground.

She took up flying.

Now the self-confessed workaholic combines her hobby with her job and makes both more enjoyable. She says she isn't happy unless she can "work a little work into my fun."

She works (and flys) out of Rockwall, Texas, a bedroom community on the east edge of Dallas which adjoins Lake Ray Hubbard. The locale provides opportunities to photograph lakefront properties, farmland, as well as single-family homes.

When the weather and her schedule permit, she'll take her camera to Rockwall Municipal Airport and taxi down the runway in either her own Piper Archer, or a larger Tomahawk which she rents from the airport because it's easier to manuever. And manuevering becomes the tricky part when airborne, because taking photographs from on high requires concentration and doesn't leave room for error. After checking for nearby traffic, she'll set the automatic controls which keep the plane level, then open a small window and point her 35mm Canon. She's found that the slower she can fly, the better quality photo.

Back on the ground, she and an assistant will double-check the street addresses, then glue her business card and a magnetic strip on the back of the photograph before mailing it to the owner. The accompanying note says she has been successful selling homes in the area and is willing to help meet any real estate needs.

Aerials work particularly well with larger-sized parcels, such as farmland, she says. She recently flew over a 100-acre property for a client, and noticed a dark- green area, even though it hadn't rained for quite a long time. Further investigation showed part of the tract was in a flood plain. The result: "My client cold pretty well name his own price."

Mrs. Chesna was a top producer even before she learned to fly. She was recruited into Coldwell Banker Barbara Hensley Realtors' a dozen years ago by Barbara Hensley, who recognized a "people person." She 's a former Realtor of the Year who received theSummit and Diamond Awards, highest honors from the Greater Dallas Association of Realtors.

Susan Dunn Arnold, president/CEO of Coldwell Banker Paula Stringer Realtors, which owns the Rockwall subsidiary, calls Mrs. Chesna a "marketing genius." One of her traits is that she's easy to get in touch with--through two pagers, a car phone, an office phone a home phone or either of two websites: flying@CBHensley.com or www.realtor.com/dallas/vicky.

The mother of two grown sons and two teenage stepdaughters, she has three grandaughters. Although she's dyslexic, she doesn't believe disabilities should deter anyone from working to achieve their goals. Now that she's become accustomed to thinking of herself as "The Flying Realtor," she's begun to think in terms of sharing her knowledge through public speaking. She's also toying with the idea of an aerial travel guide.

Flying was in her background from childhood. Her father was in the U.S. Air Force, and she remembers spending Sunday afternoons at airports, watching planes take off. Her husband, Tom, is also a recreational pilot.

Somewhat surprisingly, she hasn't heard of anyone else who combines this occupation with this hobby. But, considering the amount of fun she's having with it, skies over subdivisions may soon become more crowded

Published: December 26, 1997

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