The BBC Radio Scotland interview is here...
BBC Radio Scotland - Out for the Weekend, 02/09/2016
"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
This is a total lie.
Tracey was never been trained by any military pilots despite her claims.
During her time at Ardmore in Auckland New Zealand she was married to Steve Taylor who is well respected award winning aerobatic pilot. The Taylor in her name is gained from being married to him. All her aero experience was flown with Steve.
She claims she was a commercial pilot but most of that was ground instructing at Ardmore hence her lack of hours.
Her "30 years of flying " is a myth.
The spiel she turns out about lack of opportunity for women in aviation omits one key fact.
During her brief spell teaching ground school at Ardmore her boss was Liz Needham.
Liz Needham is New Zealand's most experienced woman pilot. She first went solo on St Valentine’s day in 1974, thus starting a long love affair with aviation. From her Aero club beginnings she has built up one of New Zealand's premier aviation training establishments and has continued on to where she is currently a Boeing 767 Captain for Air New Zealand. In her spare time she has become a huge influence within the general aviation and NZ Warbird scenes, amassing over 25,000 hours of flying, a lot of it using her A category instructors rating. This rating is awarded to the top instructors in New Zealand, and Liz was the first female pilots to achieve this.
For many years now she has flown her own Harvard in the Roaring Forties aerobatic display team as well as displaying her P40 Kittyhawk. As Frank is the President of New Zealand Warbirds, Liz rightly wears the name tag, "First Lady". We are proud to have Liz here today to fly her Kittyhawk and fly as 'No 2" in the Roaring Forties.
So why did Tracey never emulate her boss
Lack of opportunity? I don't think that story is true Tracey.
Your female boss at Ardmore was a genuine high flyer.
Liz Needham was part of NZ's first all female flight deck crew back in 1985 flying for Southern Cross.
On 29th of April 1985 the company made NZ aviation history with the country’s first all women flight crew on a commercial service when chief pilot, director and owner of the airline Liz Needham and First Officer Sarah Caldwell flew the morning Auckland-Whangarei-Auckland sectors in the Golden Eagle. On board was seventy year old aviatrix June Glen, one of a four woman pilot formation to meet and escort pioneering aviatrix Jean Batten to a landing at Wanganui in 1934.
Genuine women pilots there not emulating as you describe you antics.
All that opportunity on a plate and she could now be an Air New Zealand Captain just like Liz.
No goggles or leather flying jacket for Liz when she pilots the Spitfire.
Despite all her Sydney publicity there is not a single picture of Tracey back at Ardmore earlier this year.
One would have thought she might want to meet up,with all her flying chums after such an epic adventure
Footnote; Liz Needham comes from a flying family but despite her success in New Zealand refuses to have a wiki page.