Why I Admire Women Pilots

For most of the time since the Wright Brothers first flew at Kittyhawk in 1903,  aviation was considered a man's business.  Probably because in the early years it was risky, and well outside the traditional roles for women.  Even so, a few women found ways to get past the gatekeepers, right from the beginning

1908 - Therese Peltier  (USA)  -  first woman to pilot an aircraft
1910 - Raymonde De Laroche (France) - First woman to have a pilot's license
1921 - Bessie Coleman - First African American (male or female) to have a pilot's license

Amelia Earhart, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Pancho Barnes,  and Jackie Cochran  achieved notable milestones in the early decades of aviation.  They were not the only ones, but women in the cockpit were rare until world war two.   During that war, with male pilots in short supply, the Women's Army Service Pilots were organized.  Women were trained to pilot every type of aircraft, including fighters and bombers, and were tasked with flying them to wherever they were needed for the war effort.

WW II WASPs with B-25 bomber

After the war, the WASPs were disbanded and women were denied the access they had so admirably earned.  They were given no chance to fly for the military and almost no opportunity to fly commercially for the airlines.

I have a special place in my heart for lady pilots.  The best news is they are no longer a rare commodity.  These days, there are women flying every type of aircraft. Most airlines around the world now have female pilots. The senior ones are captains assigned to many different aircraft types, including jumbo jets. 

More than thirty years ago, when I was living in Los Angeles, I developed a wonderful friendship with a young woman named Cindy Rucker.

Cindy Rucker

Cindy was remarkable in so many ways.  She was an accomplished musician and graphic artist,  but the thing she was most passionate about; the thing she loved above all else was aviation. I first met Cindy when I was flying out of Pioneer Aviation at Van Nuys Airport in Southern California's San Fernando Valley.  It was early in Cindy's career as a Boeing 727 pilot with Western Airlines.




Western Airlines Boeing 727

Cindy was female hire number six for Western. The road to airline employment has very difficult for her.  She spent every dollar she had on building flying time. Later, she took the 727 flight engineer ground school, and eventually became an instructor, teaching the course to male pilots who were getting hired ahead of her.  It was the seventies and the feminist movement was picking up steam.  Cindy was finally hired by Western as a 727 flight engineer in 1977.   Once she began flying a regular schedule, things went well for her.  She purchased a Stolp Acroduster, a single place biplane designed for stunt flying.  On April 26th, 1981, Cindy was flying the Acroduster at an airshow in El Mirage, California.  Tragically, she was doing a maneuver close to the ground and something went wrong.   I knew she was flying the show that weekend, but was working and out of touch when the media reports came through. I didn't find out about Cindy's death until three weeks later.  It was devastating, and made worse because I had no chance to say goodbye. I had to mourn her loss privately.

A newsletter published by Stolp, the manufacturer of her Acroduster biplane, included the following quote about flying aerobatics from an interview with Cindy. She said, "Fear doesn't enter into it for any of us...who wants to die?  But I'll admit, for me, facing death is the way to know you're truly alive."  Cindy Rucker was a wonderful friend, and an exceptional human being.  Her determination, and courage were remarkable.

A few years later, as my own career as a media writer/producer was blossoming, I spent considerable time developing a TV reality series called Women with Wings.  I found an Air Force C-5 Galaxy jumbo transport pilot, an Air Force F-15 Strike Eagle pilot, a Norwegian Air Force helicopter pilot, an Indian Airlines first officer,  a Northwest Airlines 747 jumbo Captain, and an Alaskan Eskimo bush pilot; all women, all willing to tell their stories and inspire young girls and boys to believe in themselves and their possible dreams. Unfortunately,  I was unable to generate any enthusiasm with broadcasters for the idea, and I had to move on to other things.

These days,  many women are serving as pilots in the world's militaries, and as commercial pilots with the airlines.  Women are flying the most advanced aircraft and the newest air transports, including the Airbus A-380 jumbo jet. Little girls who are growing up with a passion for flying know the door is open to them.

Air Force F-15 Fighter Pilots

Airline Captains

 

If Cindy Rucker were still with us, she would be a veteran airline captain flying the newest generation of Air Bus or Boeing jetliner.   She earned her place in the cockpit,  I think in heroic fashion. She helped pave the way for the current generation of female professional pilots.

Given the opportunity, women have proven themselves worthy and entirely competent in their work as aviators. As I write this, these women with wings are getting it done quietly, and mostly without fanfare.  They're just getting it done. As a pilot myself, I know how much they enjoy going to the office.  In the cockpit, gender should be, and now mostly is, irrelevant. 

Whenever I cross paths these days with a woman pilot, I think of Cindy Rucker.  She would be so proud of her flying sisters. As for me, what I feel is admiration.


Here is a link to ISWAP, the International Society of Women Airline Pilots... http://www.iswap.org/


Here is a link to a video about a young woman Lufthansa Airlines aviator,   co-piloting the A380 jumbo jet, the largest airliner in the world. By the way, Lufthansa also has a female A380 captain.  This video is in German, but don't let that put you off. It's a very engaging video... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDSE9b9fzRg

Here is a video about Lt. Colonel Nicole Malachowski, the US Air Force's first female Thunderbird pilot....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmYYmaxZNNg