women-aviators

"...Australia like New Zealand is still very much 'a man's country"

"Ted, if you love me, lend me the lower wings from your Moth."

"I have experienced the cool, rarefied atmosphere of the Olympic heights where the famous dwell in lonely solitude."

"...I had served my apprenticeship and was now a cool, ruthless, potential record-breaker."

"I was able to fly from England to New Zealand in the fastest time in the history of the world...I think I can say this is the very greatest moment of my life."

"...would not even consider it until I had attained my ambition, for I was determined to try again."

"There have been times when the loneliness has been so intense that I have longed for the sound of a human voice or the sight of a ship, or even a tiny native village, to dispel the feeling of complete isolation that one feels when flying alone over the sparsely inhabited tracts that comprise such a great area of the earth's surface."

"...my only company the roar of the engine as I winged low over the ocean like a solitary bird... I might have been the only person in the world."

"But England to Naples in a day is no mean feat for any man, let alone a girl without any previous long-distance experience."

"If I go down in the sea...no one must fly out to look for me."

"the intoxicating drug of speed, and freedom to roam the earth."

"How bitter-sweet it all was, I reflected — flying about the world, visiting these great cities, meeting many people, making many friends, then having to fly off again."

"I find it hard to believe that I do not have to go on somewhere else... but there doesn't seem anywhere else to go, unless to the Antarctic. But one thing I do know: when I travel for a while after this I am going by train or road transport. I have had enough of the air for the time being."

"OK, meet me tomorrow morning at eight. Sharp. Otherwise I leave."

"I may not have had any biological babies but I have many children—all those I have helped to survive and grow-up and still welcome me to their villages with glad cries of Mama Daktari. In Swahili, ‘Mama’ means ‘Madam’ or better still 'Mother', and in my heart this is what it means to me."

"... I believe that space exploration is part of building the future ..."

"La Stazione spaziale è un esempio davvero luminoso di come le differenze internazionali passino assolutamente in secondo piano quando si ha un obiettivo grande, una passione comune. translation: The is a truly shining example of how international differences are completely secondary when you have a big goal, a common passion."

"Decidere di fare l'astronauta non è come decidere di fare l'avvocato o l'architetto. Si devono verificare una serie di condizioni e ci vuole anche una buona dose di fortuna. translation: Deciding to be an astronaut is not like deciding to be a lawyer or an architect. A series of conditions must be met and a good dose of luck is also needed."

"Come abitante temporanea di un avamposto umano nello spazio, condividerò la prospettiva orbitale e condurrò virtualmente nello spazio tutti quelli che vorranno prendere parte a questo viaggio. translation: As a temporary inhabitant of a human outpost in space, I will share the orbital perspective and virtually lead into space all those who want to take part in this journey."

"I would like to show you one of my favourite meals up here, which is a chicken with s, , and s. And I would like to try and put the ingredients together for you. See how it works in space."

"There is a certain level of excitement that comes with flying something fast and manoeuvrable and is able to do those acrobatic manoeuvres."

"When you set a goal, and you follow it with a plan, eventually, you start attracting the scenarios that enable you to get closer to that goal. Before you know it, you achieve what you set out."

"When I was in grade 10, doing research on careers in maths and science, I came across an advert by the South African Air Force, looking for pilots. That's when I realised that this is my opportunity. This is what I want to do."

"We used to claim that the sky’s the limit, but by being in the sky we are already defining what the limit is and limiting how far we can go."

"When we did our basic military training it was tough, you get trained physically. We ate proteins mostly because you must endure long distances, you must be agile, strong, quick thinking."

"The combat pilots are the first to engage any enemy infringement."

"As I turned a page, I saw a recruitment article by the air force. My grades were really good at school and I met the entry requirements. I was thrilled."

"I also advise fellow women to be determined in what they do so that they can accomplish their goals."

"But my mind was already made up and it was what my heart was yearning for; to be a soldier. I told myself that nothing would stop me."

"We have to train our people, Africans in particular, so that we can manage our airlines by ourselves and when this happens, we are sure of having vibrant airlines within our sub-region as well as making the aviation industry in Africa a more competitive industry all over the world."

"I didn’t want to do what everyone else was doing at the time. I wanted something unique, something special, something challenging, something that would be fulfilling."

"If you are not from the ‘right part’ of the country, if you don’t speak the ‘right language’, you won’t get all the support and encouragement."

"I believe in you, all you need to do is to show me that you can go up and come down on your own. Go ahead, I am praying for you and I know you will succeed."

"They even made things more difficult for me for having the effrontery to come into a domain that was exclusively for men."

"If the right people can be put in the right places, we would be able to float an airline that would be successful."

"A man should not feel threatened irrespective of the position his wife occupies because God has made him the head. Rather, he should always take care of her and never maltreat her. It is a situation that the husband and wife have to work through."

"I want the girls to be successful," she said, "Not necessarily to choose to become pilots but to become confident young women who can contribute to society, our economy and give back to our communities."

"I want to be the one flying that plane."

"Time has changed. Women are out there working, technology has changed, and everyone has the brains to do something, now it’s not about how much bicep or how much energy you have."

"You can’t live life being scared an in fear of anything. If something is bound to happen, you can’t stop it."

"I had to go for it. Even though it looked like a long shot, it was my only shot – that’s how I saw it so I went for it, and here I am."

"Before you wouldn't find women driving taxis here, and now you see it. There are men who cook now in Rwanda, when, in an African culture, women have to cook. So I think eventually things change. If you really work hard and you prove that you can do something well, I don't think there's a question of you being a woman, it doesn't come into the equation."

"It has moulded my character as a pilot, and I think what happened to my dad makes me a little more safe. It could have stopped me, but an accident is an accident. If someone is knocked over in a car you don't stop driving. As a pastor's child I know that you have to let stuff go."

"Everything starts with a dream."

"I feel like even though there’s just that one person, there’s a thousand more that are excited and are happy about where the world is going for women."

"I love the adventure,” she says. “Every day is different. I would wake up today and even though I’m going to the same destination I was going to yesterday, something is going to be different. That’s what I enjoy about my job: Every day brings its own uniqueness."

"You know what? I’m going to fly,” she said, “and that’s what motivated me my entire life, that idea I had as a young child."

"We have to prove ourselves, women, we can do it maybe even better."

"I think the one thing that stood out for me when it comes to hurdles is having been the first woman and the only woman in the airline"

"I would definitely encourage more young women to consider careers in the aviation industry."