Seeking female Trident pilot
 

No, it's not that kind of message.

However, the de Havilland Aircraft Museum is designing an exhibition focusing on Women and de Havilland and would like to invite a female Trident pilot to contribute.

The story starts with Louise de Havilland, who sewed the fabric for the wings of Sir Geoffery's first airplanes. We have several female pilots who are contributing; one who learned to fly on Tiger Months and later flew the BAe-146 and another who flew Comets for Dan Air. Someone who flew the Trident would fill a gap in our timeline.

If you are interested, or know of someone who might be interested, please contact me at [email protected]

Thank you

Good luck with this, given the era and the operators involved I doubt there were many so it will be interesting to see how you get on.

I spent many years on the various Trident fleets in BEA/BA - but having left the fleet before it finally went out of service I can't be certain about this - however I don't think we ever had a female Trident pilot.

Others who were on the Trident fleet to the bitter end may know better,

The woman I think was the first female pilot to join BA, I believe joined the airline in 1989, but on the B747 fleet, later featuring in a BBC documentary.

That would be Lynn Barton who I believe was indeed BA's first woman pilot.

If the lady Comet pilot was Yvonne Sintes, I think she may also have flown Herons for Morton (certainly their DC-3s).

The Nimrod was a Comet under the skin and thus a De Havilland derivative so would it not be appropriate to look for a female Nimrod pilot to contribute? After all, from sewing the fabric to weapons delivery does show how far women have come. To provide a more complete picture you might even include female Nimrod mission crew members who flew with the maritime squadrons and 51.

YS

Elizabeth Overbury I believe became a lady Comet Captain ,one of , if not the first? . Dan Air rings a bell.( Widow of the Hunting CTP who died in the JP T Mk 2 accident near Biggleswade in 1960)

I cannot remember a female pilot in the BEA/BA crew room in Queens Building from 1971to 1979, but I may be mistaken.

It is possible that as, "Women hold up half the sky," as the motto went in those days, that CAAC had a female pilot on their Trident fleet in the 1970s, they had around 35 flyable most of that decade. I doubt Iraqi airlines had a female pilot at that time.

As the other contributors above mention, there was no British Airways female pilot until Lynn Barton.

Best of luck in your search.

Did any of the BCAL/Dan-Air ladies come through BKS/Channel Airways?

Elizabeth Overbury was certainly Dan-Air but it think it was Yvonne Pope-Sintes who was their first female pilot and first Captain. If memory serves she started on the 748 before moving to the Comet. There were several others whose names escape me as do the BCAL gals... Did Laker have any?

I’m sure In my childhood late 50’s 60’s I’m sure BKS had a female pilot often heard 127.45 and 124.2 but sadly can’t recall the type 😢

Hi Treaders,
My Father was at Huntings and was very much involved in the accident inquiry in to Jack Overbury's JP accident . As Hunting's Chief Defects Engineer he had done a repair scheme on that JP 2 , following an earlier belly landing incident. Naturally that repair came under suspicion during the investigation causing my father a lot of stress and many sleepless nights.
It was however ascertained that the uplock on the JP undercarriage could be by passed under high "g'. By flying similar a/c and gradually building up the nosewheel doors opening profiles, the tendency for a violent pitch up as the leg tried to descend was established , causing wing failure due to overstressing ( One failed "' up" the other "down") and resultant airframe disintegration.. The detached nosewheel doors had been found by some Boy Scouts (IIRC) a long way away from the main accident site. triggering the BOI to investigate this avenue.
Elizabeth was building up her hours as a lady instructor in Luton Flying Club ,eventually getting in as (The first lady?) Comet Pilot Captain with Dan Air and later remarrying. . A striking looking lady with a personality to match!

No. She flew Herons and Daks with Morton was a Comet FO with Dan then moved to 748 command with them.
BKS never employed ladies
Quite sure about this

After her command on Dan-Air's 748s she went on to command their BAC 1-11s in June 1975. I know because she taught me to fly in 1959 and I remained in touch with her until shortly before her death.

I was stationed in Glasgow for much of 1972 and talked to Yvonne on the radio frequently.
She would usually leave one engine running for the turnaround so she coud get in and out quickly.

Sorry to say Kanyon there no female Trident pilots. The first female recruit (mentioned above) joined in April 1987 - I started with her on the same course.
I did manage a passenger flight before they were withdrawn and flew the BEA version of the 1-11 for 7 years. The flight deck was arranged to look like the Trident but any plans to operate both together were squashed by the ARB….

I joined LFC in early1960,and after a couple of famil flights with Dave Campbell(CFI),i was `passed to Elizabeth to continue training,apart from `check `rides.A little daunting at first,especially the `Auster` smell of oil,fuel,old leather,and Chanel 5,or was it `Rive Gauche` in the other seat...!at the age of 17...as Haraka says,quite a striking lady,and could be rather `feisty`,but always helpful ...She also checked me out on the Chipmunk before my PPL Test in July `61....
Many years later,possibly about`85,I was surprised to receive an invitation to `dinner` with the `99s` at the RAF Club,which I attended.She had taken the trouble to track me down at Northolt on -125s.That was the last time I met her,and was very sad to read of her passing a few years ago......A memorable lady,for all the right reasons.....

ps.can`t remember the name of her `yappy` little dog...

With regard to Elizabeth Overbury circa 1964 she joined Autair International Airways (later Court Line) at Luton and flew as a First Officer on Vickers Vikings, Airspeed Ambassadors, H.S. 748s and as a Senior First Officer on BAC One-Elevens. I suspect she achieved a command on Court Line's One-Elevens but don't know for sure. I do remember watching her pull off a spectacularly low go around somewhere between Breachwood Green and the threshold to 26 at Luton during the early days of her conversion training on the One-Eleven. I assume she went to Dan Air when Court Line went bust.

That was SOP

Trident female tick
 

When BA was formed BEA inherited a cambrian captain who was a tranny and was transitioning to a female so perhaps she counts.
I checked in behind they on the T1/T2 fsdo desk behind PB..they had a page boy haircut..a trouser suit and wore a bra under their uniform white shirt (black iirc).
I never flew with PB but a friend did and said they were a competent operator most of the time ..everything appeared normal until the crew turned up for a midnight swim, a comparatively somber affair as they weren't naked. Captain appeared wearing a pokka dot bikini.
Eventually their services were dispensed with after a sim check...

Try asking here:

https://www.ninety-nines.org

Kanyon , I was on BEA/BA Trident fleets from '73- Dec'85 [ the bitter end ] . No lady pilots on the fleet then . Never heard of any on NorthEast T1Es before they joined us .. None after joining BA.
I saw Lynn Barton when she was an Hamble cadet and up to LHR for her supenummary flts . Likely she went on a Trident flight .
When she graduated , BA were not recruiting , so she joined Dan Air originally and at some time flew 146s .
New recruiting started in '87 with several ladies inc. Lynn , Tridents long gone then .

That only leaves Channel , Iraq , Kuwait , and China ...

rgds condor .