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Women Only Flying School

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Old 30th Sep 2009, 18:27
  #21 (permalink)  
 
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Apparently, even the RAF had to simplify the teaching of technical subjects when they introduced women pilots.
No we didn't!

Had we had to do so, it would have more likely been because the ladies were rather brighter than many of the male students, so we'd have had to make things simpler so that even certain pig**** thick male dullology students could keep up.....

I always enjoyed teaching the female UAS students. Not just because the Bulldog cockpit (yes, I know, 'box office') didn't smell of stale beer and unwashed flying suits with a female student, but because they were (apart from a small few) rather keener to learn and mostly really rather nice people.

Say to a male student "That was an average trip" and he'll think "Great, that's OK, I'll slope off to the pub this evening!". Say the same thing to one of the ladies and she'll enlist the help of the rest of her coven and together they'll strive to do better next time. It's true, I kid you not!

Only point re. a ladies' only flying school - do make the car parking spaces big enough.....









Only kidding!
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Old 1st Oct 2009, 09:52
  #22 (permalink)  
 
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It would be a shame to have a female only flying school as there are many things that male pilots have to learn from our equals. There may be fewer women pilots than men simply because it is seen as primarily a male environment, fortunately this is slowly changing. Women, in my view, arguably make better pilots in that they don't have testosterone and are less likely to take risks. The saying of "it's better to look good than be good" applies only to us guys. All female pilots that I know (including my ATPL wife) are very professional and steady pilots. The more the better but please don't keep them at one school.
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Old 1st Oct 2009, 11:39
  #23 (permalink)  
 
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All Female School

It would limit your market but sounds like a good idea.

But heres a queston, have you ever seen 2 female pilots on the flight deck?

Ive seen so far personally a male captain and female FO and have seen on a BAE 146 a female captain and male FO
But not once have i ever seen or heard of a female captain and a female FO. I guess they dont want 2 females on there period at the same time in a stressful cockpit haha.
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Old 1st Oct 2009, 12:47
  #24 (permalink)  
 
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Nice try but I'll bite anyway...

My (female) partner Captain flew yesterday with a female FO. Of 56 sectors this month, 16 are with girls (three different ones).
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Old 1st Oct 2009, 15:05
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Enjoy the oggling while it lasts. After a certain age you will find it dies down, if not out. You will then think back with longing to the days when men were gazing at you with longing. I have had male instructors and female instructors years ago. Had some fun trips with the guys which would not have been possible in an all female school!
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Old 14th Oct 2009, 21:07
  #26 (permalink)  
 
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Come on guys.

Come on guys.
I remember while I was a student pilot and later a flight instructor. We had very few female students. Most of them were pretty. Then you have all those guys hanging around the flight schools staring them to death. Some were actually sexually harassed and always on the defense.

If this person wants to start a female only flight club or a school I wish her well. I fly once in a while with female copilots and they take their job more seriously than most of the guys. Its a pure pleasure flying with them or doing a simulator with them.

Now guys Im only talking from my own experience. Others might have different experience or ideas.

However I wish you well and good luck with your project.

Any sarcastic comments will not be replied to.
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Old 15th Oct 2009, 08:05
  #27 (permalink)  
 
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I'm pretty sure that one of the flying clubs at Gloucester currently has an all female instructing staff, including the examiner, and is owned by a lady as well, and all very nice people they are too.

Not naming it hopefully won't break any advertising rules on the forum...the point is there are plenty of female instructors around, and if anyone is unlucky enough to have a problem with male instructors then just change instructor or club. Personally I would think it quite sad to be in a place which was all one sex, I have flown with female captains, female first officers, been instructed by female instructors, examined by female examiners (even one at the CAA who had a fearsome reputation and was one of the best instructors I have met), and taught female students. My suggestion to the original poster is that we all of whatever gender, creed, colour or orientation bring something into a club or company and it would be a shame to have it deliberately restricted to all of anything and nothing else...
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Old 15th Oct 2009, 08:20
  #28 (permalink)  

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Ogling whilst doing the pre-flight?

I don't mind if women ogle me, so why should they worry about being ogled?

I'll be doing my next pre-flight in about an hour, if anyone's interested....

Hello...any ladies

...I said Hello!

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Old 15th Oct 2009, 09:19
  #29 (permalink)  
 
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We don't need a separate flying school for women. We just have to kick out all the sleazy sexist guys that hang around and want to be pilots. They are not going to be any good pilots anyway....
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Old 23rd Oct 2009, 01:54
  #30 (permalink)  
 
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My dad instructed in the WASP program - averaging 90 hrs/month for two years 1942-44. After the war he said he hated the sight of a damn airplane.

He never said he hated the sight of a damn girl, though...
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Old 25th Oct 2009, 06:23
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Goodness me, how do these poor women cope in the rest of life if they can't deal with men looking at them in a flight school?

You'd have to take into account that not only do women make up a small percentage of the pilot population, but that not all of us would want to fly at a women-only school. I can't think of anything worse, personally.

Having said that, I suspect I'm in the minority purely on the basis that I'm younger (31) than most women that seem to be around in aviation (at my airfield, anyway). I got accosted by a couple of ladies in their 50s/60s at a recent event to talk about the Women Pilots' Association, and although they were very nice their whole attitude of "well sometimes us women tend to feel like we're getting it all wrong and it's nice to have other women to talk to about it" was just baffling to me.

I work in law and a lot of law firms seem to have a similar attitude that women need some sort of "extra" or "different" training (my last firm had a Women's Network organisation that provided things like networking training for women) which is unbelievably patronising for supposedly modern organisations.
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Old 25th Oct 2009, 15:21
  #32 (permalink)  
 
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If there is a market for it......

Go for it.

If it gets more people into flying I really can't see a problem.

Mind you I can't see a problem with male or female only clubs of any type.

It will suit some women and will definitely not suit others for a variety of reasons. What those reason's are who knows and they will probably change tomorrow and the day after.
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Old 25th Oct 2009, 15:31
  #33 (permalink)  
 
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are there any vacancies for the post flight debriefings?... I am happy to pop in after flights to conduct them!
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Old 11th Dec 2009, 19:00
  #34 (permalink)  
 
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no! not necessary being a woman means nothing to flight

Cherchez la femme

YouTube - Patty Wagstaff - Champion Aerobatic Pilot

and she's hot too
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Old 11th Dec 2009, 21:16
  #35 (permalink)  
 
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she'll enlist the help of the rest of her coven
It seems that even when men try and be pleasant to women they just can't help their darker side bubbling through on occasion! LOL

KR

FOK
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Old 12th Dec 2009, 18:26
  #36 (permalink)  
 
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they just can't help their darker side bubbling through on occasion! LOL
Women say we are like dogs and we're not; just the opposite,in fact, female dogs stay puppy-like forever and males 'mature',...completely oppsosite with humans,...but I would not piss off patty WAgstaff,...you'll have brain damage after 6,7,8 negative 'g's'

PA
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Old 12th Dec 2009, 19:45
  #37 (permalink)  
 
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Surprising, perhaps, but these people have done a similar thing for a decade...

Welcome to Girls for Sail

...and I won't tell you about the entertaining half hour we spent watching one of their yachts pontoon-bashing on the Hamble...
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Old 21st Dec 2009, 02:06
  #38 (permalink)  
 
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ExCrab is right. A UK school with all-female instructors was described in Loop or somewhere similar a couple of years ago.

Having had some lessons in a C152, I can understand how a female could feel uncomfortably close to an instructor they weren't happy about.

The female driving and flying instructors who taught me were as good as the best male instructors I had, especially when it came to inspiring confidence.

For the school, a good compromise, to avoid cries of discrimination, would be to guarantee female pupils a female instructor, if that is what they want. You might go further and have a day or half day each week on which you only take female pupils, if there is sufficient demand. Fitness clubs seem to get away with this.

If your school was open to male and female pupils, you might find that you attract an unexpected segment of the market, as I saw a thing on TV which said that Sheila's Wheels had a lot of male customers who 'bat for the other side'!
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Old 21st Dec 2009, 02:43
  #39 (permalink)  
 
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I know a number of very attractive professional pilots that are women

sadly, I've not flown with any that are particularly great pilots.

I can understand that the narrow confines of certain planes would make for an uncomfortable situation for a woman.

so, the answer is to fly with bigger planes. Pipers have a bit more room than C152 etc.

If you have the money to lose, give it a try.

but you don't sound very experienced as a pilot and I wouldn't want anyone I knew to learn from someone so inexperienced.
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Old 21st Dec 2009, 08:07
  #40 (permalink)  

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The school at Gloucester mentioned is indeed owned by a woman and has a high proportion of female instructors. It isn't a women-only flying school and has never set out to be so. However, interestingly it does have a high proportion of female students - around 50% I believe...which is a huge amount when you consider that women make up only 6% of PPLs nationwide.

No-one knows why, but I suspect it's because it doesn't have that definite male atmosphere that most flying schools do. It feels much more like...well, normal life really.

However, personally I don't think female-only flying schools are the answer; just more like the one at Gloucester. For that we need more women in aviation. But we knew that already, didn't we?
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