Her father, who worked for the government printing office, Matbaa Amiriya, saw no reason for Elnadi to pursue secondary education.

[3] Elnadi read an article about a flying school which had just opened in Cairo and determined that she would attend, despite her father's objections.

Telling her father that she was attending a bi-weekly study group, Elnadi took flight lessons,[2] with 33 male classmates.

Her father was angry, but seeing the favorable press Elnadi received, his anger dissipated and he allowed her to take him on a flight over the pyramids.

Elnadi worked as the secretary general of the Egyptian Aviation Club[3] and flew for about five years before she was injured in an accident which damaged her spine.

[3] In 1989, she was invited back to Cairo to participate in the 54th anniversary of civil aviation in the country, where she received the Order of Merit of the Egyptian Organization of Aerospace Education.