How many women fly helicopters?
At our airport, there are two professional female helicopter pilots. One does aerial photography missions and one flies a $12 million jet-powered helicopter for Boston Medflight, in the hangar next door. A 125 lb. female will almost always get hired ahead of a 200 lb. guy. Helicopters are always restricted on payload and the lighter body weight means 75 lbs. of additional revenue capacity. Corporate employers operate affirmative action programs and will typically hire a woman who meets the minimum FAA qualifications ahead of men with three times the experience. A woman can get to most aviation jobs 2-5 years sooner than a man. The Ninety-Nines offer flight training scholarships exclusively for women.
