Jordan, thanks for showing up here and offering a reality check. BTW, I know what WAI is, but what’s FAST? Couldn’t find on Google. Thanks!
FAST (Female Aviators Sticking Together) is a closed group on FaceBook. I believe you need to at least have your PPL to join?
Adam
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Thanks, Adam! (cc @JLascomb) Just looked it up on Facebook. There’s Female Aviators Sticking Together and another one, FAAAST [Female American Airlines Aviators Sticking Together]. The former’s a public page and the other’s a group, I imagine just for AA employees so I’ve Liked the public page. Seems like a feel good inspirational place rather than a nitty gritty here’s the ugly haps thing. That’s fine with me. I’ll ask privately for the ugly and will do what I can to stay positive. Ironically, I chose aviation as a career change not just because I love leaving Earth regularly and going 500mph as a norm 
but also because I FIGURE there could be little disputing about how well I’m doing my job. I’m either taking off, flying, and landing the plane correctly or not… little to dispute… but I suppose those who are intent on crushing women just because we’re women will do all they can because they feel it threatens their way. I’ve had enough of those in my other life outside aviation… Hopefully I’ll be lucky enough to not cross paths going forward!
Gabby, I also wanted to show you this for inspiration https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/youngest-female-pilot-of-boeing-777
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I am sorry, but male or female, thirty years old is too young to be the Captain of a 777. I would not want to ride on any airline that is putting such inexperienced people in charge of heavy jet aircraft, no matter what gender they are.
Thank you for sharing this, I love reading articles like these!!
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Patricia,
While I’d like to say there’s no one out to “crush” you, aviation has as many ignorant fools as most any industry (maybe even a few less). That said when I read your statement “I’m either taking off, flying, and landing the plane correctly or not… little to dispute” I literally LOL’d and would like to go off topic for a moment.
Don’t take this wrong but you clearly have never been an airline FO! While there are of course SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) there’s this wonderful thing called “technique”, and since most airline Capts believe they’re one step away from divinity, they believe THEIR technique is the CORRECT way (and therefore by extension, yours is wrong). What I’m saying is if you think once you finish training and are on the line at an airline no one is going to correct, criticize or judge you you’re sadly very mistaken. I’ve been flying professionally for 13yrs, have been at a Major for the last 5, 2 years on the Airbus and there’s still Capts telling me what and how I should be flying. Not don’t misunderstand, a good pilot is always learning and seeks to improve, and if someone can make me a better pilot I’m all ears but that’s not what I’m talking about. Again there’s a difference between SOPs and technique and that’s what gets old.
So what does this have to do with the Females in Aviation conversation? So yes we have some jerky pilots who have some bias against women AND we also have MANY pilots who swear their last name is Yeager and their way is the only way. But that doesn’t always mean the 2 always go together. What I’m saying is if you’re critiqued, corrected or the dude your flying with simply doesn’t like you, it’s wrong to assume it’s because you’re a woman (or gay, or Asian, or Jewish, etc etc etc). I’ve heard many people make that mistake and that just makes the situation worse. Because when you go around saying “I just flew with CA Awesome and he hates women because he said I should use vertical speed vs climb bla bla bla” it makes you look like you’re the one with the problem. What I’m saying is while biases absolutely exist it’s best to give people the benefit of the doubt. Do your job to the best of your abilities, don’t make excuses or have a chip on your shoulder and I promise you you’ll be fine in this industry. As for the passengers, well as far as they’re concerned we’re all overpaid lazy brats who just press a button and sleep for 5 hrs anyway.
Adam
Chris, why would you value age over experience? Also her schooling to get to where she is is more stringent than in the US.
Hi, Adam, glad you got a good laugh. Contrary to what I put across, I’m not that naive. It’s a lot easier to hold your ground against a bully if the result of your work is indisputable to oneself. If an engineer builds a bridge that holds, divas can insist on criticizing it but it either holds or it doesn’t. that’s the kind of scenario i meant to paint.
Patricia,
I am not valuing age over experience, quite the contrary. I am placing a very high value on experience, which only comes with time (age being a byproduct of time). Regardless of what level of education a pilot has, nothing can prepare them for being a captain like experience. I was hired at the majors at a rather young age and I can tell you that there was no way I had enough experience to be a 777 Captain at the age of thirty.
Also, I would point out that she graduated from flight school at the age of 19. A pilot that obtains a degree in aviation in the US, or a regular degree and then goes to flight school, will be finished with their training at 22 or 23 years of age at the earliest.
Furthermore, Air India has one of the worst safety records of any airline out there, clearly they have some room to grow in their training and promotion practices. http://www.jacdec.de/airline-safety-ranking-2017/
There are plenty of female pilots out there to draw inspiration from, and Captain Divya might be one of them. My point is that experience is very valuable in the aviation industry and I can’t see how she could possibly have the proper amount for being tasked with the responsibility of Captaining a 777.
Chris
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Patricia,
I think you are missing Adam’s point. If another pilot critiques your performance they aren’t being a bully, they simply think they have some knowledge or insight that they can offer to you. Sometimes they are right, sometimes they are wrong, but it is still feedback that you will need to accept.
In aviation we are constantly learning and no performance is ever indisputable. I have never had a perfect flight and never will. The day I start thinking that I had a perfect flight is the day that I stop learning. A good pilot is always open to feedback.
An engineer might build a bridge that holds, but that does not mean that it is the best type of bridge for that location, was cost-effective, or even attractive. Flying is the same way, you can complete the flight successfully, but there will always be other schools of thought on what should have been done or how the flight could have been accomplished better.
Chris
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Patricia,
I honestly wasn’t mocking you or calling you naïve and I apologize if it sounded that way. I was simply chuckling because I had literally just finished a trip with a guy who thought he was one of the Wright Bros and discovered aviation. Along with what Chris was saying, flying, while technical in nature, is also an art to a degree and as such lends itself to a certain amount of “interpretation”. Your statement was there’s “little to dispute” and regardless of your gender, race, religion or favorite team, trust me there’s plenty and that’s all I was saying.
Adam
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Hey guys (@Adam & @Chris) sorry for the late reply. Irma + work + travel threw me for a loop.
I got all you said and appreciate the points of view. Rest assured, I am going in to this humbly, but with enough confidence to keep me going towards this goal…even though so much about it scares the bejeezus out of me, frankly.
I move in to my dorm this week and begin training next week. I’ll keep you posted!
