As Liz Moscrop states herself in the prologue to her fascinating book, “Choosing the greatest 100 anything is always going to be a subject of hot debate”. So many people will delve into this large A4 format book to see if those women whom they think are the greatest are all there. They are likely to find that most of them are.
Early Women Fliers
Starting almost at the dawn of aviation, there is Raymonde de Laroche, the first women in the world to gain a pilot’s licence, way back in 1910.
There is Hilda Hewlitt, the first woman in Britain to do so, merely a year later. As one goes through the years there are many more familiar names – Lady Mary Heath, Mrs Victor Bruce, Anne Morrow Lindbergh.
There are all the aviation household names of the 1930s – Amy Johnson, Amelia Earhart, and Beryl Markham. And the wartime ATA pilots are well represented by Pauline Gower, Lettice Curtiss and Ann Welch.
Read on
* Amelia Earhart: Famous Pilot who Disappeared
* Christmas Presents for Female Aviators
* Women Aviators in World War II
Modern Day Female Pilots
Moving on to more modern times one can read about Sheila Scott and Diana Barnato Walker, record-breaking aviatrixes of the 1960s. Then there are the female astronauts – Valentina Tereshkova, Sally Ride, and a number of others.
Liz and Sanjay have chosen a number of representatives of the ground-breaking female airline pilots from different countries. And finally there are the famous record breakers of today – Polly Vacher, Jennifer Murray, and Judy Leden, to name but a few.
Less Well Known Pilotss
However, this book does more than document all the information concerning well known aviation household names. With 100 to choose, Liz and Sanjay have found and told the stories of some other fascinating characters who are less well known.
There is Sabiha Gokcen, first Turkish female pilot and the world’s first woman combat pilot. And Lilya Litvak, Russian female fighter pilot of World War II, who shot down a number of enemy aircraft before she herself went missing in action. And Hanadi Zakaria Al-Hindi, the first Saudi woman to get a pilot’s licence, in a country where women are still not even allowed to drive.
Why is This Book So Enjoyable?
With short two-page mini-biographies of each pilot, it is the type of book a reader can pick up for just a few minutes, finding something new and interesting on each occasion. But it would also be an excellent reference book for anyone wanting quick information about women pilots. With a large number of pictures, and written in a light and easy-to-read style, this is the sort of book one wants to have around the house, not left on a bookshelf and forgotten about.
One criticism - a paperback of this size is rather unwieldy and quickly becomes very tatty. But the hardback version is due very soon, which is an excellent idea.
This book is ideal for anyone with even a passing interest in aviation, and also those who like to see how far women have come in what was a man’s occupation for so many years. An excellent read!
It may seem strange to think that just 100 years ago the idea of a woman flying a plane was truly shocking, and the fact that we now have successful female pilots the world over is a testament to the courage and determination shown by women the world over, who have fought their way into the cockpit. Released to coincide with the centenary of the first American[CE1] woman to jump in a plane in October 1908, The 100 Greatest Women in Aviation explores some of the fascinating stories, both historical and contemporary of 100 female aviation pioneers from around the world.
The 100 Greatest Women in Aviation begins with the stories of the earliest aviatrixes, such as Raymonde de Laroche, the first woman in the world to gain a pilot’s licence, and Britain’s first qualified female pilot Hilda Hewlett, through to more recent inspiring stories of women aviators. These include Phetogo Molawa, South African’s first black female air force pilot, and Hanadi Zakariya Al-Hindi, who gained her pilot’s licence in 2004, despite the fact that as a woman from Saudi Arabia, she was forbidden from driving a car.
The book also tells the stories of well-known adventurers like Amy Johnson and Amelia Earhart, whose mysterious disappearance in 1937 is the stuff of legend, as well as less famous fliers, such as the flamboyant Lady Mary Heath, who made front page news in 1928 when she flew from Cape Town to Cairo. Mary also became the world’s first female commercial airline pilot (unpaid) when she joined Dutch airline KLM. The book also looks at women’s pilot organisations, such as the renowned 99s and the American Air Force’s Chick Fighter Pilot Association (CFPA).
Author Liz Moscrop said “Some people are surprised to learn that there have been 100 women aviators at all, let alone 100 great women aviators with such fascinating stories, but in fact there were more stories than we could fit in.”
Co-author Sanjay Rampal added “A celebration of women’s achievements in aviation and the astonishing number of ‘firsts’ they have achieved is long overdue.”
