About me…..
It all started with the stories of my grandparents …
Those of you who know me, will realise that the majority of my flying experience has been in a glider (non powered aircraft). Now it is time to get my private pilots licence for powered aircraft.
This is a whole new experience, and, whilst I am already aware of many of the basic principles of flight and handling an aircraft, when making the transition it still requires starting from….. well….. the start……..
So come with me on this journey and see the stages of getting a private pilots licence…….perhaps you will be inspired.
And since, by how, you should be aware that I love our early pioneering aviatrixes, I am going to accompany my lessons with a discussion on Harriet Quimby.
In case you don’t know, Harriet Quimby was the first America Woman to obtain her pilots licence - and the second woman in the World! There are two things I absolutely love about her:
The first is her satin purple flying suit - more on that later. The second is the fact she was a journalist - very uncommon for those times. She managed to convince her employer to pay for her flying lessons and write a series of articles about her experience.
As you may imagine, the aircraft, equipment, process and regulations have changed a lot since then! And you won’t see too many purple flying suits around these days either!In 1971, my grandmother used the profits from her hairdressing salon to pay for her flying lessons and flew across the world in a pair of yellow flares!
After using the proceedings from her hair dressing salon, in 1973, in a pair of yellow flares, my grandmother co-piloted a two seater aircraft (Beechcraft Bonanza) from the USA to her little farm in rural Australia. I will attempt to tell the stories of our aviatrixes whilst on route to Australia in an attempt to recreate my grandmother’s journey but also along a similar route to which Amy Johnson flew in 1930 when she because the first woman to make the journey solo in her De Havilland Gipsy Moth.
So come with me on my journey between hemispheres, in an aircraft from London to Adelaide as we explore the world and the adventures of our pioneers of aviation and ………….what they wore!
LIST ITEMS
LIST ITEMS
