₦airaland Forum

"What a man can do, a woman can do better." In a world of a predominantly male dominated field of aviation, the ladies have proven to be equal to the task.

This has also include the flying the world’s fastest and sleeky passenger jet airliner - the Concorde that was only operated by the duo of British Airways and Air France. In this piece, attention is directed towards the few females that were privileged to be in the exclusive club of pilot who flew the Concorde.

These three women piloted the legendary Concorde. Jacqueline Auriol was the first of the trio, flying Concorde as a test pilot. Barbara Harmer became the first woman British Airways Concorde pilot in 1993, almost 20 years after the plane entered service. In 2001, Béatrice Vialle began flying the Air France Concordes.

Each woman’s life story and career are fascinating in their own ways; Jacqueline was awarded the prestigious Harmon Trophy four times, Barbara jumped from a career as a hairdresser to a career piloting supersonic jets, and Béatrice had the honor of flying the final Air France Concorde flight.


[quote]-1). JACQUELINE AURIOL (1917 - 2000)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOFkl4jDtmg?si=fc1nk-4DZ4_hS0_7
Jacqueline Auriol was France’s most famous woman aviator and one of the world’s leading military test pilots of the 1950s and 1960s. The daughter of a wealthy shipbuilder, she was born Jacqueline Marie-Thérèse Suzanne Douet on November 5, 1917, in Challans, a small town in France.

In 1938, she married Paul Auriol, son of Vincent Auriol who later became President of France from 1947 to 1954. When World War II broke out, Jacqueline refused to leave, but lived in hiding, assisting the French Resistance, and evading Gestapo agents. “I began to realise that I loved danger,” she later recalled.

After the war, Jacqueline took up flying, obtaining her first pilot’s certificate in 1948. One day, she went to meet a famous instructor, Raymond Guillaume, to learn aerobatics. He was sceptical about whether this society lady would be able to withstand harsh aerial manoeuvring.

In order to test her, he went far beyond the 10 minutes required for this type of evaluation and flew for an hour through various manoeuvres, including inverted flight. From the corner of his eye he watched her reactions. She smiled back and seemed happy and said she was feeling wonderful. So he continued to train her and became her friend and mentor, imbuing her with a passion for aerobatics.

By 1949, she was the only woman in France able to perform aerobatics and the public flocked to see her in action. She took part in a competition flight between Algiers and Dakar and then in July 1949, demonstrated her skills at the Paris Air Show.

A few days later, Auriol was sitting next to the pilot in a twinengine hydroplane, when it crashed into the river Seine. Apart from other injuries, her face was severely hurt, with a torn nose and fractured jaw. Yet, her first question while being rushed to the hospital was, “Will it be long before I can fly again?”

The press lamented that the most glamorous woman in Paris would be permanently disfigured. But Jacqueline was determined that this would not happen. Over the next two years, she underwent 22 operations to rebuild her face. Did the experience put her off flying?

She once said, “In the case of pilots, it is a little touch of madness that drives us to go beyond all known bounds.” It merely strengthened her resolve to achieve greatness in the air. Between her last two operations in the USA, she earned her helicopter qualification in just four weeks.

In 1950, she gained her military licence and qualified at the Flight Test Centre at Bretigny, France, as one of the world’s first women test pilots. On May 11, 1951, attaining a speed of 508.8 mph in a British Vampire jet, Auriol established a new women’s speed record, besting the earlier mark set by Jacqueline Cochran. This triggered a friendly rivalry between the two Jacquelines, and they went on to swap the women’s world speed record for over a decade.

Jacqueline Auriol beat her own record on December 21, 1952, in a Sud-Est Mistral. But she had to settle for being only the second woman to break the sound barrier, on August 3, 1953, months after Jacqueline Cochran. She reclaimed the speed title from Cochran on May 31, 1955, this time in a Mystére IV N. During her 20 years of distinguished service to aviation, she totalled 5,000 hours of flight, including 2,000 test flights and trials on more than 140 aeroplanes and helicopters of all types.
https://www.sps-aviation.com/story/?id=615&h=Jacqueline-Auriol-1917---2000

-2). BARBARA HARMER:
She was Born on September 14, 1953, in Bognor Regis. Harmer began her career journey in hairdressing after leaving school. She transitioned into aviation in 1973 and embarked on a path as an Air Traffic Controller at London.
Harmer began her career journey in hairdressing after leaving school. She transitioned into aviation in 1973 and embarked on a path as an Air Traffic Controller at London

She employed £5,000 from her personal savings and a £10,000 loan to finance her flying lessons to acquire her Private Pilot Licence (PPL). Subsequently, she assumed the role of an instructor at Goodwood Flying School. Following that, she dedicated two years to studying, ultimately earning her Commercial Pilots Licence (CPL) in May 1982.

After submitting applications to over 100 positions, she was eventually hired by Humberside-based Genair, where she operated Shorts 330 and 360 aircraft. Subsequently, Genair merged with British Caledonian Commuter (BR), leading Harmer to transition to the mainline carrier.

She began flying BAC One-Elevens and later moved on to operate long-haul flights on the airline’s McDonnell Douglas DC-10s. In 1987, British Caledonian merged with British Airways (BA), marking the transition for Harmer to become one of merely 60 female pilots recruited by BA.

Supersonic Dreams
Without delay, she aimed to pilot the world’s first supersonic airliner, Concorde, and submitted her candidacy for the six-month conversion course in 1992. On March 25, 1993 Barbara Harmer Becomes First qualified Female Pilot of a commercial Concorde. Harmer embarked on her historic first flight between London Heathrow (LHR) and New York (JFK) in 1993.

This groundbreaking journey catapulted her to global recognition. Amid intense public scrutiny, she gracefully handled her newfound celebrity status. As noted on British-caledonian.com, one of her most memorable moments was when she flew the Manchester United football team to their monumental Champions League Final in Barcelona.

Reflecting on the experience, she expressed, “I was thrilled and honored to be asked to fly the team on their historic journey to Barcelona and felt quite emotional as I taxied the Concorde out to the runway, with British flags flying and thousands of people wishing the team luck on the way.”

Concorde’s Retirement: End of an Era
Upon Concorde’s retirement from service in October 2003, Harmer concluded her ten-year tenure with the fleet. Subsequently, she transitioned to piloting the Boeing 777 before opting for voluntary redundancy in 2009.
She possessed not only exceptional aviation skills but also held qualifications as an RYA Commercial Offshore Yacht Master.

Her combined experiences in both aviation and maritime domains rendered her a highly sought-after speaker for motivational and inspirational engagements.
However, it was at 60,000 feet, cruising through the skies at 1,350mph, where she truly felt her sense of belonging. Reflecting on her time as a Concorde pilot, she expressed feelings of “luck” and being “extremely privileged.”

Harmer continued to be an inspiration throughout her career and beyond. Following Concorde's retirement in 2003, she went on to operate the Boeing 777 until taking voluntary redundancy in 2009.

It’s noteworthy that Barbara Harmer is one of just three women who piloted Concorde. The other two were French test pilot Jacqueline Auriol and Air France pilot Béatrice Vialle. Before the aircraft retired, Vialle began flying Concorde in 2001 and completed around 35 trips between Paris and New York.

Regrettably, Harmer passed away at Wilfrid’s Hospice on February 20, 2011, at the age of only 57. A plaque honoring Harmer’s remarkable accomplishments was revealed at 91 Staples Road, her birthplace, in September 2020.

-3). BÉATRICE VIALLE:
Béatrice Vialle is a French aviator and one of three women in the world (along with the Briton Barbara Harmer and French aviatrix Jacqueline Auriol) to have flown a Concorde.

Born: 4 August 1961 (age 62). Bourges, Cher (departement), France. Béatrice Vialle is a French aviator, one of the two operational female Concorde pilots and the first French female pilot on a supersonic airliner.

Graduating from École nationale de l'aviation civile (the French civil aviation university; named as "airline transport pilot student" 1981), she started her career at Air Littoral, flying an Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante. She moved to Air France in 1985, where she flew an Airbus A320 and a Boeing 747 before becoming qualified on Concorde, on 24 July 2000.

A graduate of the National School of Civil Aviation (class of Airline Pilot Student in 1981), she began her career on Embraer Bandeirante at Air Littoral (1984). She joined Air France in 1985 where she successively flew on Airbus A320 and Boeing 747 before obtaining Concorde qualification on July 24, 2000.

She made her first Concorde commercial flight on November 19, 2001 becoming the first French woman to have piloted a supersonic airliner commercially. She completed a total of 45 Paris-New York supersonic flights and three loops over the North Atlantic.

She is credited for being the only French-qualified female Concorde pilot( and one of the two female Concorde operational pilots) flying the final Air France Concorde flight, AF 4332, with fare-paying passengers on board. 31 May 2003. 🇫🇷
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXQ7Uhdf3C4?si=mlUW_m8FJnk4YIT1

In total Vialle made 45 supersonic flights Paris-New York City and 3 trips above the Atlantic Ocean. After the end of her Concorde flights (31 May 2003), she became a Captain flying Boeing 747-400s.

https://m./ConcordeHC/permalink/5444854595553104/?mibextid=Nif5oz

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A9atrice_Vialle

Iconic ladies who really ruled their world. It is historic that the legendary Concorde machine was also piloted by the ladies. Congratulations girls.

Barbara Harmer story is really inspiring. From a hairdresser to airtraffic controller to a legendary Concorde pilot. What a rise in professional career. Our girls of these days are only interested in living fake lives.

Too all Nairaland perverts. Those women are all grandmothers now. So control your small JT.

Bringing this story to us is one of the achievements of the Tinubu administration

👍🏽👍🏽

Being a pilot isn't child's play
And women who are pilots are super smart
The story is inspiring

Concorde is bae

Nice story

There is no gender disparity in ability. Any gender can achieve greatness.

Concorde is the only major commercial civilian aircraft I did not get an opportunity to fly in

What I can see is three beautiful angels.

I would love to see more potentials in Nigerian ladies rather than their adventure in sex and money.

[color=#1986BC] Concorde? It's a fly by wire airframe thus it needs the minimum flying skills to get it on, just learn to take off and land. Finish [/color]

Waoh!!! Standing Ovation to the Snr. Ladies

Bring back explorers

Great women, now around here, they are very lazy only to cook noodle and egg and hookups

Misogynists left the WhatsApp group chat

Racoon:
. Our girls of these days are only interested in living fake lives.

Hahahahahahahaha 😂

Omoluabi oyinbo pilot.
Nice one mas

Racoon:
Barbara Harmer story is really inspiring. From a hairdresser to airtraffic controller to a legendary Concorde pilot. What a rise in professional carrier. Our girls of these days are only interested in living fake lives.

You forgot to add "AND CELEBRATING BIRTHDAYS WITH COMMUNITY EFFORT".

Nigeria woman zero

I wish I could become a Pilot at this my age.

Alright.

Noted.

so wat do u want us to do with this news...nonesense

Grate story

H

We rule 😂

And can do better 🤪