Female pilot Melanie Astles flying high in Red Bull Air Race series

Je prefere etra voler.

That’s the French translation for the American bumper sticker “I’d Rather Be Flying.” When Melanie Astles was pumping petrol in the south of France, it was a wistful goal. She once dreamed of becoming a fighter pilot, but she could not afford flying lessons.

So she took a job at a filling station.

Little by little, she saved enough money for a flying lesson. She worked at petrol stations for several years. She saved money, little by little. She took more flying lessons.

At age 25, she received her pilot’s license.

Now 34-year-old Melanie Astles is the only femme pilote — female pilot — in the Red Bull Air Race Championship, which concludes its 11th season this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

She’s the Danica Patrick of the high-flying and low-flying — the airplanes practically buzz the Turn 2 wall at LVMS — Air Race Championship, with a fraction of the notoriety. The last time out — er, up — at hallowed Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Astles finished second in the Challenger class, which is to Red Bull air racing what the Xfinity Series is to NASCAR.

“(Maybe) it’s my turn to inspire in a very modest way,” she says about attracting a new demographic to her sport.

This is her first trip to America, she said after checking into the MGM Grand. Everything is so big here. Indianapolis Motor Speedway was enormous. The MGM is enormous — you practically need an altimeter to access some of the floors.

Seeing America and flying in the Red Bull series have been learning experiences, the five-time French aerobatics champion said.

In Red Bull air racing, pilots must navigate an obstacle course consisting of tight turns and climbs and dives. The flying machines are high-performance, single-propeller aerobatic airplanes that reach speeds of 260 mph. They go one at a time, against the clock. The obstacles are 82-foot high inflatable pylons. Called air gates, you can’t strike them or they burst apart and you are assessed a penalty.

Indianapolis was the first time Astles did not strike the pylons.

“I’ve been working hard all year, feeling better and better,” she said. “Indianapolis took the pressure off my back.”

She has been well received by the male pilots. Her flying coach is Paul Bonhomme, one of the Charles Lindberghs of air racing, a three-time Masters champion.

She says when you’re pulling multiple Gs and slaloming through air gates there’s really not a discernible difference between male pilots and female pilots.

Ron Kantowski can be reached at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow him on Twitter: @ronkantowski