Packrat

Come on. Anyone who was in any branch of military aviation can give you specific stories of EEOC PC flight training. Especially if you were there in the '90s. Kara Hultgreen is one of the Navy's horror stories and her logbook, flying gewgaws are in an exhibit in Udver-Hazy for God sake.

However, for every one of those stories I can provide you an equal number of female/minority pilots who are outstanding aviators/aviatrixes in their own right.

Let's not forget that some of the worlds most important pioneer aviators were women....Pancho Barnes, Jackie Cochran, Amelia Earhart. One of the most famous test pilots in Germany during WWII was female, though I can't remember her name right now.

We all can name good pilots and bad pilots both male and female. One thing remains constant...the airplane and the atmosphere don't give a fig about YOUR plumbing.

FDXLAG

Amelia might have been a good pilot, Ill let you know after I read the accident report, not an excuse to lower standards though. Some of the best pilots I know are women as are some of the worst I know.

USMCFLYR

The difference in the naval flight trianing of the early 90's for example (my timeframe as a student) and then flight training in the later years (my timeframe as an instructor) was that the females were finally being held to the same standards as the males. KH was not held to the same standard (words to that affect of one of her LSOs during her second **successful* attempt at CQ in the RAG).

I would have assumed that during the time period of this females flight training that those days were over and she would have had to produce the goods to get to where she is presently; if that isn't the case - then it is certainly another disappointment of the PC world.

Learflyer

Forget the flying part for a minute. How'd she get through the academy talking like a like a like a valley girl?

trip

Women can fly jets now?

Hacker15e

I've been an instructor at multiple levels of the USAF fighter training pipeline, and in my experience there is no difference in performance -- good and bad -- between men and women.

There are aces and d-bags in both genders alike in the community. There are men and women with whom I'd go to combat with in a heartbeat, and there are also unfortunately people of both genders whom I wouldn't trust with an oxygen mask tester in life support because of their incompetence, or wouldn't trust with my wallet on the table with because of their lack of integrity.

There are people of both genders who aren't talented enough to cut it, and who play discrimination complaints, or call in favors from powerful military and political relatives or friends, or who are given special favor by certain instructors because of personal interests (sometimes romantic or sexual) to get them through the training pipeline successfully.

Sometimes the AF is smart enough to outmaneuver these games, but sometimes the politics and PC are too strong and, despite the knowledge and protestations of instructors and leadership who know better, these under-qualified folks make it through the system.

Just for truth in advertising, I don't know this pilot in the OP of this thread, but it would be stupid for this thread to turn into a "chicks shouldn't be flying fighters"-fest because of whatever her behind the scenes story is.

UAL T38 Phlyer

Hack: well-said.

Pack: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanna_Reitsch

John Carr

JMO, but that's the big picture root of the problem. It's NOT that (insert whatever here) makes for a bad pilot.

Simply that the system had allowed a lower standard for (insert whatever here) for the sake of being PC. And it's gone on in the civilian sector for decades now. At a time when it really isn't necessary anymore.

"Diversity is GOOD. But NOT simply for the sake of diversity....."

ExAF

The intent of my post was not to insinuate that women shouldn't be fighter pilots. I just wanted to hear "the rest of the story" from UAL T38. I spent my last assignment in the AF in T-38s. I saw outstanding women and some not so outstanding women....the same with the men. I've also seen some outrageous PC "stuff" that helped influenced my decision to retire right at 20 years. I was a dinosaur that had had enough and was ready to move on at that point. Most of it didn't even involve women. Lowering of standards sucks no matter what the demographic. Covering up lower standards or exceptions to standards sucks as well, no matter what the demographic.

John Carr

A better way to say what I was trying to get at.

It's just such a shame when things are used to say "oh look what we can do!!!!!!", when there's more to back story. Like like the KH/F14 thing, etc.