http://m.engineeringnews.co.za/article/real-economy-report-2013-03-20/rep_id:4433

It doesn't really matter does it because it was "a practice run for MY solo flight across Africa" and there was a PIC.......did I hear that correctly?Another example of the media misquoting her.....no if I heard it correctly she said SOLO a couple of times.

So there you have it directly from the mouth of the 'Bird In A Biplane' Tracy Curtis-Taylor, no slip of the tongue, no reporters misunderstanding what she said, she was quoting "My Solo Flight Across Africa" even before the Africa flight took place in Ewalds Stearman.

"My Solo Flight Across Africa" how much clearer could it be.

Lies and deception from day one.




edit spelling.

Great name, 'canopener'!!!!

I wonder what cans could be opened, and why that specific name was selected......?

How intriguing to imagine a can of worms might be opened...

Or even what might happen if the person who probably has the most beans to spill were to open a can of beans?

One person is probably really worried that their time is clearly up, and that a canopener is a dangerous thing to provoke if you happen to be 'that can'.

Seems even our CASA don't know their own definition of solo.
https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.co...-solo-success/

Here is the video with that famous slide. There is another slide 42 minutes in that makes reference to "solo"

"This is something like the culmination of a thirty year flying career."

How many hours has she got?

.... and what its wrong with being ex-military, Hon Lt Cdr Curtis-Taylor RNR?

Have a lovely day. I wish I was there but I'm busy flying, over the Omani desert with quite a few current UK military men and women. :)

"I've often felt like an outsider because it has been made clear that some resented seeing a woman doing something that they don't do."

"Many of the members are ex-military men and about 80 to 90 per cent are over 60. They act like some kind of old boys' club."


Say what you like but she's streets ahead of the LAA and flying community for PR. When she loses the vote these are the only images the public will remember!

She must have a twin sister in the videos stating "Solo" or that tongue of hers is as long and slippery as a lizards tongue.

'Cows getting bigger' likewise, unfortunately I also cannot attend today as I have a job to do, thats busy flying in Russia with some ex military pilots who are a great bunch, they are intrigued to know the results of the AGM especially after her "Solo" claims during the video of the Russian AN2 earlier. :)

Quote
"Many of the members are ex-military men and about 80 to 90 per cent are over 60. They act like some kind of old boys' club."

That percentage is probably not true. What is true is that Tracey herself is 56 according to Companies House. Only 4 years till she becomes an old girl.

I wonder if anyone at the LAA has a few minutes to extract the age profile from the membership database and show us the truth.

Posted by Steve Slater on the LAA website Oct 8th 2018.

I don't think that the average tells us enough of the story. She said "80 to 90 per cent" so we could use a good breakdown of ages, and gender.

What a grubby tactic to use, inventing misonyny in aviation when ironically it's one field where merit is the key factor and women are treated equally, welcomed and given every encouragement and opportunity.

"because it has been made clear that some resented"
is of course suitably vague and untestable.

IIRC, the average age was 59, but that was a year or three ago & it might have applied to another GA subset. Most of us are indeed clocking up the years, but I don't see it as particularly relevant all the while we are encouraging youngsters in whichever ways we do. I don't like the way the LAA is being portrayed as exclusively male, nor do I enjoy T C-T portraying herself so publicly as some sort of a downtrodden, female pilot that by default represents the rest of us. She doesn't and we aren't.


ETA - slow to type that, so other posts got there first with the figures.

Sorry I don't have time for that, I am busy flying in Russia with ex-military pilots today ;)

I am hoping that the LAA can make time for it, and establish if this is true or just another Lie / Slip of the tongue.

Nothing, especially since, perhaps sooner rather than later, the time will come to remove the comma after "ex-military"......

​​​Jack​​​​​​

Perhaps the misleading LAA membership stats are down to poor reporting or just poor use of language? It wouldn't be the first such faux pas from the DM. If she meant that 80-90% of the ex-military pilots in the LAA are over 60, that might well be accurate (though it doesn't justify the sweeping generalisation that followed). Or it could have been another slip of the tongue...

The outcome of the LAA AGM vote has been posted on that thread. Ms. Curtis-Taylor is entitled to her privacy, should she choose to exercise it. Discussion on new information please, let's not dredge up old information, nor gloat on the LAA AGM vote outcome here please.

Pilot DAR................ See my response on the AGM thread. Thank you.

There should be zero gloating, on any thread.
I have been silent these past few days as I have been in contact with people close to TCT. I suggested a course of action for them that would have been both honourable and acceptable; sadly my advice and suggestions were ignored.

TCT has some close friends who really ought to be hanging their heads in shame. They have actively steered her into this train-crash. My thoughts are that they knew where this would lead because, like us, they can see through the fog of lies and embellished tales. They chose not to so that they can now come gallantly to her aid. Munchausen by Proxy fits this profile all too well.

If true what a sad state of affairs; I certainly would not be calling them friends if thats how they advised Ms Curtis-Taylor to act, it was never going to be a win situation for TC-T after some of statements she published, labelling the LAA Board and its members.

What is needed now is a proper news article that shows how the original trip was planned to be solo. When it was found it couldn't be, how that was ignored and the lie allowed to run and run.
How during the trip and for two years afterwards, awards and honours were being accepted and the project website and Facebook pages lauded the achievements. How the 'outreach' was just a feminist fantasy that pushed against an open door of women in aviation. How when the evidence of the deceit (presentation material, videos, witnesses etc) started to become known, the websites were cleaned up and instead of answering difficult questions, an aggressive attack plan of shooting the messenger was implemented.
Let's see an article that doesn't allege this evidence but actually looks at it. Let's see Ewald Gritsch described not as a mechanic or passenger but as a multi thousand hour pilot.
Let's see the last of a person who was prepared to disrespect current and previous aviators for the sake of money and false glory.

well said.

How about reissuing the award in both Tracey's and Ewalds name as a compromise?

Scorched-earth policy, for not giving her what she thinks she's entitled to :rolleyes:

By denigrating the LAA, she's putting at risk the opportunity for girls in the future to join the world of aviation ("no Janet, I'm not letting any daughter of mine learn to fly with those mysogenistic old men").
Some pro-women legacy.

Hi Clareprop

you forgot to include how a subsequent cross-USA dual jolly with the same ATPL/aircraft owner was hyped up to be another solo pioneering trip, but failed due to the inability to get a light aircraft airborne from a mile-and-a -half long runway due to an inability to understand the basics of density altitude (and a crash that wrote off the aircraft reported as an 'incident'.)

Unfortunately the relationship between 'news' and 'truth' are always tenuous. Look up the Russian proverb regarding Pravda and Izvestia.

No, she has had her 15 minutes of fame let her fizzle away.

At the moment Ms Curtis-Taylor is acting like a child spitting her dummy out to any news outlet daft enough to give her airtime, the aviation community and now the wider general public knows the truth, she will fade away in to history as the woman who lied about flying solo for her own financial gain.

The poor old LAA is taking quite a beating in the press, primarily very clear lies from the losing party in the vote. A shame these "journalists" don't bother to do any research and present a balanced story.

I have just made a point of joining the LAA. A small gesture of support, but at least I bring the average age down a little!

Ross Edmondson, newest member of the LAA.

You can understand why the Chairman called for members to vote for TCT to get the award back. It was obvious that, if they didn't, the organisation would come under an onslaught of accusations of misogyny. As others have said, now is the time for female members to defend the poor old LAA from these attacks.

Has anybody found an online link to this? I've had a look but no luck so far.

Depressing petulance. :(

The reason the LAA is taking a beating is part of a very clever PR campaign. The news is all about 'old boys' misogynists and an award. The news should actually be about not answering questions on a deliberate and massive deceit.

Well you would say that Clare, as you're clearly one of these 70 year old blazer wearing males who don't think that women belong in aviation.

G

Why? Neither person accomplished a "feat of navigation" while acting as a team, in a very well redundantly equipped aircraft, being supported by a larger team, and further ground support. If Tracey had been the victim of an injustice, the vote of the members would have reflected that. The LAA must defend the value of their award by assuring that it is issued with merit.

In my opinion, Tracey could have turned this around, by addressing concerns expressed by her peers enough to have them withdraw somewhat. Thereafter, with a more truthful and transparent presentation, go on to her efforts of public relations and encouraging new pilots. Sadly, any pilot to be who steps up to the counter and says "I'm here to ask about learning to fly because I saw Tracey's presentation" will trigger angst with the person they speak with. I'm confident that it'll work out well for them anyway, after a caring flying instructor helps them over the first obstacle they have put in front of themself - wanting to be like the famous Tracey.

I was inspired (again) by Neil Armstrong, having watched the movie "First Man" on Saturday evening. As I had already understood, Neil answered media questions with accurate brevity, never a "ME!, ME!!". When answering for a failure he said "we fail down here so we can succeed up there". Admit what happened, and move on with truthful purpose!

The LAA people had already been called misogynists yada yada in the press before the vote. To give her back the award just to prevent that accusation would have smacked of tokenism, which is far more sexist and a slap in the face to those of us who are just getting on with our jobs.
If this was an attempt to save face it has backfired badly, so not sure that this campaign was very clever at all. However if you have a book coming out then there is only one thing worse than being talked about and that is not being talked about, so the adage that all publicity is good publicity applies.
However as I've posted on the other thread, if TCT wanted to show that she really cares about the things she says she cares about then she could follow the example of Shaesta Waiz, the youngest woman to fly solo round the world last year; and instead of donating to a lawyer, donate to a scholarship fund organised by Dreams Soar.
I would like to see some quality journalism comparing these two women.
(I have said all along that the only barrier to entry in aviation is money, not misogyny and if I hadn't won a scholarship myself would not have been able to persue a 30 year, 13,000 hour career)

(The other Clare Prop!)

Edited to add that I was also inspired by Neil Armstrong as a wide eyed 6 year old! Looking forward to seeing the film this week.