occasionally I felt as if I wasn't being taken seriously. To be fair it was nothing major, but I do remember doing a solo landaway to one airfield, walking into the club house and being asked in a rather condescending manner if I was hanging around for a trial flight. When I said I had flown in, I was asked who the pilot was!
Landed at a private field, jumped out of the helicopter, shortly after, a group of people wondered over to see what was going on.....they outright refused to believe me that I was the pilot and wanted to know where he had gone......Needless to say I did point out the fact that they had just watched me land and would have seen if the pilot had done a runner...perhaps they might like to check in the storage compartment incase the pilot is hiding there....
Greetings to you all. I only just found this thread. And both the above quotes really, really struck a chord with me.
Why, you might ask. Those of you who read PPRuNe a lot will probably know that I'm a helicopter instructor, also have a PPL(A), and am....let's just say old enough that I take exception to someone's earlier comment on "wrinklies".
Yes, but...I happen to be FEMALE!!! And there are still very few women flying (6% of PPLs, 2% of commercial pilots). So I've experienced lots of things similar to the above, and more. I've got out of the aircraft, and had people look around for the pilot! Students regularly think I'm the tea lady.
One said to me in obvious confusion, "I didn't realise that women flew helicopters".
I used to get annoyed, and I can understand if you do - neither sexism nor ageism are acceptable, in aviation or anything else. But quite often, it's not prejudice, but simply ignorance. The public has this fixed idea of how a pilot should look - probably early 30s, definitely male, tall and debonair looking...sort of James Bond type. You don't fit the bill, and neither do I. I've been told several times, "You don't look like a helicopter instructor". I've tried to ask how I should look....they can't tell me!!!
So I don't get upset any more, and neither should you. Tell people plainly that you ARE the pilot, have a laugh about it if you want, and leave it at that. Though I must admit, asking them to look in the luggage compartment in case the pilot was hiding is a good one.
And let's face it - in a few years you'll blend into the background at airfields, and I don't think I ever will.
Sorry to have highjacked your thread. Feel free to ignore me if you want.