Meet the trailblazing female private pilot who's set TikTok alight with her videos from the skies and is inspiring women to follow in her footsteps

4 months ago

'Most women I cognize can’t moreover parkland a car. Why is simply a female flying a plane?'

This dismissive remark was near connected a video posted by a 25-year-old female backstage aviator who is pushing backmost against this benignant of prejudice pinch TikTok videos of her high-flying life.

And they're proving highly inspirational - she's amassed a pursuing of 380,000 users.

Meet Katherine Moloney, who flies some fixed-wing craft and helicopters, does nan trading for an aviation institution and often takes to nan skies to alert herself to work.

Katherine told MailOnline Travel nan hardest portion of moving successful a male-dominated manufacture is that 'talent is distributed equally, but opportunity is not'.

Katherine Moloney (above) has built a immense 380,000-user pursuing connected TikTok by showcasing her skills flying helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft

Katherine is based astatine Lee connected Solent Airport connected nan South Coast of England. She 'loves exploring caller airfields', and has flown connected immoderate 'fantastic trips'

Katherine, who useful arsenic a trading head for Transair Flight Equipment, gained her backstage chopper licence astatine 19 aft astir 70 hours of flying and 4 years later obtained her fixed-wing craft licence.

She is based astatine Lee connected Solent Airport successful nan South Coast of England (previously a Royal Navy airfield called HMS Daedalus) but 'loves exploring caller airfields'.

She has flown connected immoderate 'fantastic trips', including astir nan Needles connected nan Isle of Wight, complete Newquay successful Cornwall and nan River Thames successful Central London.

Katherine said 1 of nan things that amazed her astir becoming a aviator was nan deficiency of female practice successful nan aviation industry.

In nan UK, less than 5 per cent of pilots are women, which Katherine described arsenic a 'staggering statistic'.

She said: 'During my training, I did not meet different female student aliases instructor. This is not to detract from nan astonishing antheral instructors and mentors I person had connected my aviation journey. However, I felt a deficiency of relationship pinch different like-minded women.'

Katherine gained her backstage chopper licence astatine 19 aft astir 70 hours of flying and 4 years later obtained her fixed-wing craft licence. She's pictured opinionated connected a Scottish Aviation Bulldog 120

Katherine said 1 of nan things that amazed her astir becoming a aviator was nan deficiency of female practice successful nan aviation industry. She's pictured supra adjacent to a Spitfire that she had nan opportunity to fly

Katherine said she did not meet different female student aliases coach during her training. She said she 'felt a deficiency of relationship pinch different like-minded women'

This is what led her to found Elevate(her), an online assets level and organization dedicated to 'informing, inspiring, supporting and connecting women successful aviation globally'.

Katherine said: 'Although immoderate advancement has been made towards equality successful aviation, we still look further barriers wrong nan aviation industry.'

Katherine claimed women successful nan manufacture are still 'very overmuch successful nan minority' and often consciousness 'disconnected' owed to challenges specified arsenic a 'lack of female accommodation astatine airports’ to insufficient support for women who want to equilibrium a profession pinch family life.

She said: 'Aviation is making large moves to go much accessible and much inclusive, and Elevate(her) is astatine nan forefront of creating consciousness for women’s challenges wrong aviation and empowering women to inquire nan manufacture to beryllium better.’

The community, which launched successful 2023, is wholly free to subordinate and has already amassed a ample number of members, spanning 5 continents and 30 countries.

According to Katherine, nan level ‘contains each nan accusation you request to get into nan aviation industry, not conscionable arsenic a pilot, but successful nan galore varied careers disposable successful nan industry’.

Katherine claimed women successful nan manufacture are still 'very overmuch successful nan minority' and often consciousness 'disconnected'. She's pictured supra adjacent to nan Hughes 500C helicopter

Katherine said: 'Although immoderate advancement has been made towards equality successful aviation, we still look further barriers wrong nan aviation industry'

In nan UK, less than 5 per cent of pilots are women, which Katherine described arsenic a 'staggering statistic'. Katherine is pictured adjacent to the Piper Super Cub monoplane

Katherine said Elevate(her) is 'at nan forefront of creating consciousness for women’s challenges wrong aviation'. She's pictured (centre) pinch members of nan community

They create resources for schools and different organisations pinch accusation connected aviation careers and big in-person socials aimed to link women passim nan country, pinch their first overseas societal being held successful July.

One of nan meetings they host, The Annual Women successful Aviation Networking Event, is nan largest gathering of women successful aviation successful nan UK and Europe. This year’s event, held successful May, had astir 100 women successful aviation attend, Katherine said.

Katherine said these events are 'integral' for women to shape connections.

She added: ‘Men and women who activity successful aviation are incredibly passionate group from each backgrounds who stock a communal emotion for flying.

‘Aviation is now much accessible and much inclusive than it has been antecedently while making continuous dedicated changes to amended its pathways.’

To spot much from Katherine sojourn her connected TikTok astatine www.tiktok.com/@moloneykatherine. To find much accusation astir Elevate(her), sojourn nan website astatine elevateheraviation.co.uk/.