Savvy readers will note from the byline of this column that my name is Jamie. Since my earliest days, the girlie moniker my parents gave me has been my primary identifier. It’s not good. It’s not bad. It’s just mine. I’m fine with it. Not everybody is.
Throughout my school days I was gifted with a series of teachers and administrators who, with the best of intentions and a staggering quantity of condescension, explained to me that my name was actually Jim.
“You see, Jim is a boy’s name,” they said. “Jamie is a girl’s name. Your name is Jim.”
Imagine the warmth and respect I grew to have for those self-important busybodies. My mom told me my name is Jamie. I believe her.
If my emotional reaction to the interference of others could be charted on a graph with scientific precision, the downward trajectory of the metric would point very nearly to the center of the Earth.
Throughout my life I have encountered a long list of near strangers who truly believe they know my real name, even as I and my nuclear family members are pronouncing it and spelling it perfectly clearly. I have no doubt my well-established disdain for authority figures is rooted in these many patronizing exchanges.
Now for the segue. This is the same frustration and annoyance I experience when I hear male pilots disparaging female pilots because…now, brace yourself for this logic…they’re women.
I’ve been a CFI for better than 30 years. I’d like to think I’m a reasonably good one, too. But to date I have not been able to find a copy of the FAA Practical Test Standards for Girls. When the FAA reworked that series of documents and issued the Airman Certification Standards, I searched high and low through those files as well. No luck. I can only find performance standards for pilots. Not a single document about how to be a girl pilot, a female pilot, an estrogen rich pilot or any other combination of descriptive terms.
The FAA issues pilot certificates. They make no distinction beyond that. So, I wonder, why are there still so many among us who feel the need to segregate pilots into sub-groups based on specifications that have nothing to do with piloting certifications, education, experience, or skill?
I bring this up because beyond all logic and reason there remains a group of nitwits who steadfastly ignore the well-established and universally applied FAA standards, a pilot’s personal accomplishments, and the reality that piloting an aircraft through the atmosphere poses identical challenges to pilots, regardless of any extraneous descriptive terms.
The situation a pilot finds themselves in does not change based on whether the pilot is wearing slacks or a skirt. The weather has never been known to present lesser challenges to the female pilot than it does the male pilot. An engine failure is not somehow subtly less catastrophic because a woman is at the controls. Navigational issues aren’t graded on a curve, with one gender having to clear a higher hurdle while the other gets a pass.
A pilot is a pilot. Although never let it be said that all pilots are equal. They are not. Certainly, as much effort as I might put into being a safe, proficient, capable pilot, I haven’t for a minute thought that I could hold a candle to Bob Hoover, even on his worst day.
The same can be said about me in comparison to Patty Wagstaff. In the cockpit Patty is hard-core, super talented, and has the awards to prove it. She’s respected by her peers and fans alike. She’s also a nicer person than I am. So there’s that.
As an aerobatic pilot, or doing important work to protect wildlife in Kenya, Patty is a towering figure in aviation. Her accomplishments far exceed mine. I suspect there are few pilots who can honestly say, “Yeah, Patty’s pretty good, but I’m better.”
While I chose the general aviation route, my dad was an airline guy. A 747 captain for Pan American. A job he loved, had great respect for, and one he performed with distinction for many years. But he was a captain of a different era. I have no doubt he was one of the self-important obstacles women like Beverly Burns had to put up with as she climbed the ladder to do the exact same job my dad did.
Beverly was the first woman to sit in the left seat of a B-747 in airline service. Her first trip in the captain’s seat departed Newark, navigated across the North American continent, with a landing in Los Angeles.
I have not been able to find any evidence that her crew, ATC, the weather, or the machine itself was given special instructions to go easy on her. Beverly was the captain. A role most pilots, including myself, have never filled. Ergo, I give Beverly the same respect I hold for my dad and every other individual to sit in that seat and make those decisions. They did the same job, with the same pressures and responsibilities. The only difference in their work life was the restroom they chose to use in the terminal building.
Surely, that can’t be a factor in their capacity to lead a crew and fly the aircraft, can it?
The long and growing list of pilots who happen to be women includes many who deserve the respect of any thinking human. I would encourage you to look up the names Jerrie Cobb, Wally Funk, Hazel Ying Lee, Betty Gillies, Eileen Collins, Jeana Yeager, and Tammie Jo Shults. That’s a good group to start with. But there are more. Many more. The list continues to grow.
There are women in flight training today who will impress us in the future. There are girls in primary school who haven’t discovered their affection for aviation yet, but they will. Hopefully they will rise above the resistance they face, push past the obstacles in their way, and reach the heights they’re capable of reaching.
Now seriously, would you rather be counted among those who encouraged or disparaged their efforts? Think about that long and hard. Your answer and your resulting behavior may be what you are most remembered for in the long run. Choose well.
Jamie: I agree with you. Your mother should know what she named you and what she put on your birth certificate.
I use a pen name because people seem to think they can, or should, formalize my name. The problem is, it is already in its formal. And it is correctly spelled on my passport, CDL, PPL, Title of my property, car registration, etc.
Yep, I understand where you are coming from.
My wife is a pilot and when I wanted to get back in the cockpit her and I had the same CFI. We were treated the same! Her performance in the aircraft in many ways is far superior to mine. There was no Gender Bias, nor was there any Racism or any other issues. I find this article to be one of the most disturbing I have ever read regarding Aviation today. Can we stop the Social discourse pandering? I do not consider this article in anyway an avocation for the advancement of GA, or Aviation period!
There’s no point in gender bias in pilot performance. That’s illogical. But by the same token, if you want to be treated as an equal, you need to stop acting like you’re not. If the Aviation world continues to make a fuss over women’s activities, they’re only continuing to maintain the perception that there’s a difference.
There isn’t any difference.
Being a female pilot is no more special than being a male pilot. Being a good pilot, or a solid Aviator, is irrespective of gender, race, or any other box people seem to like to check these days. What counts is how well you fly, the aircraft has no idea who’s behind the controls, but it responds to skill and knowledge. Making someones achievements special because of their gender, or race, or whatever, simply isolates them from the norm, and it’s normal for women to be pilots. It’s normal for anyone who wants to bad enough to be a pilot. But maybe, for some, being normal isn’t special enough.
Good guys like you who believe what you believe, while in the majority, are not the problem. The other ones, who many men don’t believe exist, are very much a problem, and they’re more common than you think. There are both men and women out there still who believe women are inferior. And at 4-5 %, women are certainly underrepresented in aviation, so as much as we want to believe that we’re in a good place in America today as far as equity goes, we’re just not. We don’t think we’re “special” – ask any woman pilot and she’ll be offended by that idea. We do ask those who are shocked by sexism in aviation to stand up against it. As a female pilot, when I tell other male pilots some of the things I’ve put up with, they’re shocked. It’s unbelievable to some. What counts is, indeed, how we fly the airplane – if we ever get there. Very few women begin pilot training and even fewer continue on in the industry. Why would they choose to continue if they still, in 2021, face disparaging comments and lack of support, especially from, say, your flight instructor or boss? How do we fix that? Telling them to “toughen up and deal with it” isn’t the answer – anymore. Those of us who did “toughen up and deal with it” in the past should not have had to. We’re at a point in time where this conversation is not only relevant, it’s still very much necessary
I don’t thnk that I ever met a really competent GA male pilot that had any disdain for a female pilot. On the other hand, I’ve seen less than good pilots, who perceive themselves as having been cut from the cloth of Bob Hoover, who tend to belittle female pilots. They’re probably blind to their own inabilities and lack confidence.
Heeere we go again … sociologist wannabe Jamie masquerading as a CFI / AOPA State rep and pontificating about misogyny … AGAIN !! I thought we settled all of this in your September 24 and October 1, 2019 diatribes? I guess you feel it’s time for a refresher course? Are you that unhappy in your current line of work? Give it a rest, will ya! You’ve pushed ME over the edge this time.
STOP IT! I don’t come to GA News for my sociology or left leaning political news OR views … I come here to learn all things aviation. Stop putting male pilots into the generic bucket you’re describing. If you have a SPECIFIC problem with a male pilot … deal with it one on one … not in a generic way as you have done here. If you want to be a sociologist, go get your PhD and start teaching at UC Berkeley. Or, at least go write a book. Its success or failure will determine if people are interested in this subject. I’m guessing not.
I’m beginning to see a pattern here. I think YOU are a misandrist, Jamie. Maybe it has something do with your given name and the childhood story you described above? I don’t think you’re “fine with it” at all. You’re continually trying to shove this — now boring — storyline down our collective throats. Find something else to write about … P-factor as a function of AoA, carb ice … whatever.
Patty’s hangar was next to me at St Augustine. I helped Jeanna (and — heavens — Dick) fly around the world, Julie Clark was on stage with me receiving a prestigious FAA award at Sun-n-Fun 2019, I personally met and lived near Poncho Barnes. I could go on. I have no problem with any female successfully fighting the downstream currents — which ARE waning — to achieve greatness and I respect same. Salmon do it … so women can to. We’re enlightened, now! Got it? GET it!
I don’t understand why Ben lets you get away with this trash? And I hope he sees fit to allow these words to stay because a whole BUNCH of us male pilots out here are tired of this, too. I know … they told me. I’m just willing to be outspoken and write about it.
Now then, I’m sure I made Genesah “chuckle” again … despite her particular brand of “plumbing?”
You’re so dependable, Larry. Thank you.
Using your timeline, from September 2019 through to today, I’ve published approximately 70 columns in GANews. Of those, by your own count, three made mention of women in aviation. Three. That equates to 4.28% or roughly the same percentage of women we find in commercial aviation.
Hmmm, I wonder what that could mean? Your comment claims the topic is being thrust down your throat – when less than 5% of the content of this space is devoted to the subject. Wow, that’s quite a low threshold to see it as overkill.
Curious question, if you pay $4.82% of your mortgage each month, will your bank be pleased? If you pay a similar amount on your phone bill, will you still retain service? If you owned a business and fewer than 5% of your employees showed up for work each day, would you be a success?
Let’s consider this in aeronautical terms. If you load up with 5% of the fuel load required to make the trip you’ve planned, are you all set to say, “That’s plenty. Maybe too much. Let’s go.”
Believe me, Larry – I didn’t push you over the edge. You were already gone. Just knowing that you think coincidental proximity like meeting Pancho and renting a hangar on the same field as Patty locks you solidly into the Good Guy Club tells readers more about you than you probably intended to expose.
As a wise man once said, when you find yourself at the bottom of a deep hole you’ve dug yourself into – stop digging. That’s good advice, Larry. Take it if you can. Really. Take it.
Using transference on me isn’t gonna work, Jiames. You’re trying to shoot the messenger when — in fact — it is you who has an issue needing correction. Writing a blog in a world wide disseminated e-Zine blog carries with it certain responsibilities. GA News isn’t about social work … it’s about aviation. You obviously haven’t gotten that memo.
But — OK — you wanna play the statistics game, I can do that using the current morass of the pandemic’s numbers as a comparison. Well under 1% of the people who are infected (which itself is currently ~10%) die from the virus … and the powers at be are fretting over it. If 4.28% of the population died of it, ‘they’d’ probably shut the Country down. You sound like a teenager justifying erroneous behavior to a parent. I knew you’d take that tactic. Ain’t gonna work on me.
You’re right … I AM a GOB, registered fossil and am retired from the US Military. I don’t take prisoners … I dispatch ’em all and let the Big Man upstairs sort ’em out for me. (Oops … should I have said, “the Big Person?). Anything less and you’ll receive copious amounts of “extra” help seeing the error of your ways. I didn’t write this boring blog … YOU did … AGAIN! The first step in correcting obsessive compulsive behavior is recognizing that you have a problem. I’m gonna give you some extra “help” in that department. I’m willing to be “point man” and take the time to show you the errors in the choice of subject matter or writing tactic. Your writing style often employs the tactic in this article. Boring.
I don’t know who died and appointed you Pontiff in charge of breaking the glass ceiling for aviatrixes but … that isn’t what readers come here for and that isn’t what GA News’ Mission Statement is. It’s AVIATION ! We don’t need you to be pointing your finger at male aviators collectively because a few bad men mistreat female pilots or aspirants. How’s about if I wrote a blog about how lazy women are or their shortage of testosterone at only being 7% of pilots. How do you think THEY would feel generically? It’s not up to you to write the wrongs of Society in an aviation blog. And furthermore, those numbers have been consistent since the Wright Bros. first defied gravity in controlled flight. There’s a reason.
If you want to be a social scientist, do what I already suggested and then get yourself a job writing for Psychology Today. If you want to write about aviation … stick around and teach me (us) something.
I’ll say it again … STOP IT !! I’m demanding an apology to all the good guy aviators who you maligned with this article! Believe it or not, I’m one of ’em. WE are waiting …
Larry, I’ll never be able to thank you appropriately for proving the point of the column in such exceptionally stark terms. Most pilots are decent people who don’t care about gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, or religion. They care about the airplane, the weather, their health, and the capabilities of the pilots around them. But there are a few, not many but just enough to really make a mess of things, and you represent that bombastic batch of boobs extraordinarily well. Your consistency is impressive. Not appreciated, but impressive nonetheless.
I’ll watch for your article about how lazy women are. That ought to really put the world right. I’m sure publishers will be lining up to pay you oodles of cash in order to have the exclusive rights to the sort of gibberish you’ve got to share, misspellings, bad punctuation, and errant upper case type all all.
Jamie, Jamie, Jamie, let me start by saying admittedly I did not make it completely thru your article. However I did make it far enough to come to a few of my own conclusions. First, just my opinion, but I think you are much more gender conscious than I or many, many other fine male pilots I know. Most of us don’t give a hoot what your gender, color, or sexual preference is once the wheels leave the ground. What we care about is making it from point A to B safely, and having a qualified Person in the seat beside us. You answered your own question. There is one pilot test standard, and at the airlines one minimum standard. As a young man I grew up on pretty meager means, who’s only dream was to fly airplanes. I was told by numerous friends, white males, male teachers and females it would never happen. For a number of reason. One being how could a poor country boy ever fly airplanes. So you see prejudices and bias crosses all lines. I never let that deter me. It is now 55 flying years later, 39 with a major airline, many as check airman, 50 plus as a CFI. Point being many times I have heard stories that were relayed as bigoted or misogynistic, (we used chauvinistic in my day) acts that were just people being people. My private pilot examiner treated me like crap. I just figured it was part of the test. Why should he give a teenager a pilots license was his question.
Now here’s where the problem arises. Articles like this that single out people and make excuses for individuals by making them victims has become tiring and rhetorical and dangerous. In all these years checking and training I never looked at any person as a male or female or anything other than a Pilot. With one set of standards. However, what I have had happen, is using that one set of standards I have had to sit before the EEOC because I did my job and when a person failed the standard that was a female it was immediately decided it was due to bias. (It was determined my decision was justified.) Never mind the many many excellent female pilots who made it thru without any problems. I have seen checks where the performance was less than standard where nothing was said for fear of a discrimination law suit. That is unfair to the many who meet the standard.
It is unfair, Just like you trying to silence Larry for his opinion.
I know Larry, I soloed him almost 50 years ago. He has a very interesting aviation background and is knowledgeable in many areas. He was opinionated 50 years ago, but sharp. I did not hear from him for over 30 years until I got an email and we re connected. A story I should write about and maybe more interesting than continuing fueling the divide. His reference to the female pilots he has worked with and know were not to impress, just facts that one should take as proof he is not misogynistic and really doesn’t see the world as you do. If a male says something negative about a female he is misogynistic if he says something positive he is pandering. Go figure.
Maybe we need to stop using guilt tactics to lower expectations and educate people to the single standard you mentioned. Usually when a person fails a check ride they are given training or a check by a different individual. So if there is real bias it will become exposed. If not maybe there is a weakness that needs to be corrected. We spent eight years not allowed to question the first black president for fear of being called racist. I think folks are getting tired of this mentality.
As For encouraging young would be aviators I am all in when you say we should encourage all kids and even adults regardless of gender, race age or anything. However we should also be honest and let them know there are some sacrifices that they will have to make to succeed in a demanding endeavor such as aviation.
Let’s talk airplanes. Most of the ones I loved I referred to as she, or ole gal, or some other feminine monicker. Does that make me a biased male?
I hope not..
I think Wild Bill has the best response.
Interesting points, Tom. Had you finished reading the column you might have come to a different conclusion. I guess we’ll never know.
Congratulations on the airline career, incidentally. That’s quite an accomplishment. One to be proud of, certainly.
Just as a point of interest, how often do passengers mistake you for a flight attendant? That’s a common complaint amongst women pilots. I assume you’ve had the same problem routinely, since your path and theirs have been so closely linked.
And to be clear, nobody has ever tried to silence Larry or anyone else. He’s free to comment, just as you are and I am. I commend GANews for that. This is an open forum. How you came to the conclusion someone, anyone was being silenced is beyond me. But then so is the commitment to not being able to see the forest for the trees. For some it’s a lifestyle, apparently. Me? I choose to raise my sights a bit higher and take the long view.
Good luck in all things, Tom. And say, “Hey” to Larry for me will ya’?
Actually Jamie, there have been many times that a passenger has mistaken me and many male pilots for a flight attendant. They see a uniform and have no clue what the four stripes or three or two mean, nor do most of them care. It never offended or made any difference to me. I knew who I was and I often would go fetch them a cup of coffee or water or find someone who could. Just my point, we all, male, female, black white green or yellow experience many of the same things. Want to guess how many northerner’s (damn yankee’s) implied that I was less than qualified because I spoke with a southern accent? Never mind what I had accomplished. I just feel the sexism, or racism or victim card is over played. Sure there is all of the above. But too often it is just jerks being jerks to anyone in their path. I have trained, checked and rated many extremely competent female and minority’s. I was not surprised when they performed their jobs exceptionally well. Why would I expect anything less. I can say one common denominator was I also never experienced those exceptional pilots indicate they felt they should be treated differently. I am sure your intent was good, however this is a much belabored topic these days and I think the discussion is at a point it is counter productive. I really think everyone has become so sensitive that honest conversation is impossible, so correcting real problems has also become impossible. The only way to have equality is to treat EVERYONE equal.
Don’t see Larry much but I’ll pass along the salutation. He really does have a vast aviation background with a lot of knowledge. Served our country for many years and participated in some interesting projects. Cheers!
Tom … you should write an article for GA News about how female passengers on your Airbus’ are myopic by mistaking you for a stewardess (choice of words deliberate). You, too, could use the tactic of bad mouthing all of women for the erroneous treatment of a few who can’t tell the difference between a Senior Captain and the hired helpers. You could bad mouth and stereotype any female who challenges your premise. The vast majority of silent male airline pilots (who apparently don’t really give a darn) are depending upon you to defend them. You, too, could bore the readers here. Make sure you write about it multiple times, too. Some of ’em are slow learners.
Thanks for your kind comments about me More importantly, for giving me an avocation that has lasted me a lifetime and has given me joy beyond my wildest imagination as a young USAF type. You SHOULD write that book about it. Don’t forget to include that I was your very first student on the very day you got your CFI in Sacramento (I never knew that! … I mighta been scared) … and the very first person to go all the way to private certificate and then beyond under your inspiration and tutelage …. and still doing it 50 years later!
I gotta go … there’s bound to be someone else I can offend with my retorts to nutty aviation blog premises. To all who I have thus far neglected to offend … stand by. I’ll get to you shortly. My pen is sharp, my energy is boundless and I have a telephone. MGAGA … Make General Aviation Great Again (like the 70’s).
Well, reading you two bicker back and forth is 3 or 4 minutes of my life that I’ll never get back. But since I’m here now, let me make a point to you both:
Larry – psychology is deeply integrated in aviation but needs to go further. Why do pilots continue to kill themselves by flying when and where shouldn’t?
Jamie – writing articles like this really don’t change anything. It’s an evolutionary process that is gradually improving, just not there yet. (And BTW, Jaime is the name of a friend who is an experimental test pilot for Sikorsky.)
HI Jamie,
Some of our biggest detractors are other women (Not women pilots). I believe some of this is a result of their own insecurities or limitations. IE: I’m not good enough to be a pilot because I am a woman and therefore you, as a woman, are also not good enough.
The plane, the standards and the regulations are not gender specific.
I have experienced various levels of discrimination, harassment or discouragement. I have also experienced a great deal of support and encouragement.
Women do have a tendency to be less confident which is often interpreted at lack of skill. The reality is, that lack of confidence keeps them within their skill set. When was the last time you read an accident report about a woman pilot running out of gas, deliberately flying VFR into IMC or taking off with an iced up plane?
You make an interesting point I’d never considered, Mary. That lack of confidence might be better expressed as an exceptionally wary attitude. If it keeps you from pursuing your dreams, that’s not good. But if it prevents you from leaping into the abyss blindly, well that’s a definite positive.
I wonder if there are known metrics about the likelihood of women pilots working themselves into accidents at a greater or lesser rate than male pilots. That’s an interesting topic that might shed some light on how we think and behave under pressure.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
To Jamie
As long as I have been reading your columns, I just accepted Jamie Beckett as you.
Never thought of it as anything else or even considered it could be. You are you and always will be Jamie Beckett to me, and I hope many others feel the same.
Check the internet phone directory. You may be the only Jamie Beckett in the USA. Easy to find and nice to find on the first search.
Ann Holtgren Pellegreno
When I was a young boy Betty Skeleton was my heroine!
my name is sue how do you do, i’m tired of this gender stuff, lets get back doing what we do best, piloting. thanks great article
How can a Johnny Cash reference ever go wrong? Good one, Chuck. As you recommend, a-flying we will go.
Thanks for your comment and your refreshingly musical sense of humor.
Agree 100%!
If the gender stuff continues, maybe its time to leave this site and go somewhere
else. There are lots of pilot forums and authors out there who publish much more
interesting topics related specifically to flying, and not some individuals political
bias or gender leanings.
So, stop the gender crapola please, and tell us something that is really interesting
about flying and being a pilot. That’s why we are here…….
Long career in multi pilot cockpits. Some of the best and worst I’ve flown with were women.
Some of the best and worst I’ve flown with were men.
Some of the best and worst I’ve flown with were prior military.
Some of the best and worst I’ve flown with were from G.A.
It’s not the sex or background. It’s the individual.
Well said! I’ve had 52 years in GA & 36 in airline flying. Having flown with men & women of various backgrounds (GA & Military), qualifications (multiple ratings & past experience) and races, I’ve found the vast majority to be competent & passionate about their piloting profession. Fortunately, having flown with literally thousands of crew members, I have only heard a handful of disparaging remarks (usually from those who had a reputation for their own deficiencies). Every profession has a few bad apples; so let’s give those individuals a deaf ear and get over this race/gender focus & simply continue being the best we can be!
Next Jim, you can write an article about how BLM is making headway so that blacks can overcome obstacles to become pilots. Sorry, you’re mom did say it is Jamie……..
Great article. You are on point. Lack of respect due to gender is never acceptable, and in the aviation community that lack of respect is, I believe, born out of either jealousy and/or a lack of confidence based on the many points you make about the FAA standards and demonstrated abilities of those you mentioned.