Ewald has been quoted as saying the following:
A lot of pilots can tell you that TC is simply a good pilot (and navigator).
But the navigational problems TC had in Africa were caused by the lack of proper aviation maps, charts and information.
Tracey had earlier been quoted as saying:
Curtis-Taylor calls herself a "bit of a maverick".
"I have an ipad with my airspace because that's often a very difficult thing when you fly a vintage aeroplane through so many countries, crossing international borders, through military zones, restricted airspace, into international airports, it's very difficult to do with an aeroplane like this."
"This is an aerobatic aeroplane, so I can be turning steeply around things. I had a lot of training, ironically with some military pilots, and I did a little bit of display flying, and formation flying and aerobatic training, so all of that really came together for these expeditions for the sort of flying that we're doing."
"Sometimes I'm only half a wingspan away from rock faces, or flying the dead sea at about 15 feet in formation with another Stearman."
the first thing she said was "I need a drink!"
“I ignored procedure,” she admits, eyes twinkling. “The place was deserted, so I just flew through the gorge. I was hauled over the coals by air traffic control for two hours.
There was another time in Uganda, when I flew into a prohibited zone. The controller gave me the wrong directions, so I ended up over the president’s house. By the time I landed, there was a summons to the tower and they tried to impound the plane. I said, 'That’s ridiculous. Arrest me instead.’”
“I’ve had some rough experiences. I’ve been made to fly at the same altitudes as commercial jets. That’s just dangerous.
"Over the sea, I was flying at 10 feet or below over breeding whales"
A pilot is required to fly prepared with suitable navigational information (charts), so if she decided that she was well enough prepared to make the flight, she would have had the charts, or other information (like an up to date database on an Ipad?), or, not make the flight. Yet she'll blame ATC for her failure to navigate (and apparently fly into restricted airspace?). A pilot is required to, or at least expected to abide by at least the spirit of regulations, if not the letter. Low flying? Harassing whales? Wingspan away from gorges walls? Turning steeply around things? Busting restricted airspace? Not actions to be proud of!
A "good pilot" (as quoted from Ewald) would not do the things which Tracey seems to have boasted about in the forgoing quote. A good pilot would be ashamed and apologetic were they have been compelled into any
one of these dangerous situations. The
list of dangerous flying, and the apparent eagerness to boast about it is not the stuff of a good pilot, nor one who should be awarded!
If Tracey would like be thought of as a mentor to female aviators, I am alarmed at the prospect that she would boast to those impressionable minds that such dangerous flying (including two crashes) is the way forward to be a future pilot of pride! A "good pilot" would admit, apologize, work to improve, and not boast. Other people who defend Tracey as a good pilot, to be advanced over other pilots as a model of airmanship are doing their own image a disfavour. Similarly, organizations who would award a pilot with the errors attributed to (or admitted by) Tracey diminish their own relevance.