Asnath Mahapa (born October 1979) is a South African pilot. She has flown for United Nations Red Cross and World Food Programme in Central and West Africa. Recently, she was appointed as a spokesperson for Cell C Take a Girl Child to Work Day campaign. [1] [2] [3] [4]
Mahapa was born and brought up in Limpopo,Rosenkraans, GaMatlala a province in the northern part of South Africa.In her first year of study at University of Cape Town, she dropped out to join the flight school. [3] [5] [6]
In March 1998, Mahapa began her training as a pilot in Polokwane at G&L Aviation. In that same year, she later moved to Progress Flight Academy to finish obtaining her private pilots license. On 8 October 1999, she acquired her commercial license and since then has worked with renowned organisations. In 2001, She joined the South African Air Force and worked till 2002. Between May 2003 and January 2007, she flew for the United Nations World Food and The Red Cross, mainly operating in Central and West Africa countries. She started flying for South Africa Airways in February 2019 and is now flying internationally as a senior first officer on the Airbus 340. [7] Before that, she also flew for DHL in the Southern African Region. [5]
She has been recognised and honoured with several awards including: [5]
In 2012, she established the African College of Aviation in Johannesburg, through which she trains and inspires a new generation of Pilots. [1] [6]
Bessie Coleman was an early American civil aviator. She was the first African-American woman and first self-identified Native American to hold a pilot license, and is the earliest known Black person to earn an international pilot's license. She earned her license from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale on June 15, 1921.
Harriet Quimby was an American pioneering aviator, journalist, and film screenwriter. In 1911, she became the first woman in the United States to receive a pilot's license and in 1912 the first woman to fly across the English Channel. Although Quimby died at the age of 37 in a flying accident, she strongly influenced the role of women in aviation.
Polokwane International Airport, is an airport serving the city of Polokwane in the South African province of Limpopo. The airport is located 5 km north of the city. It is not to be confused with the nearby Pietersburg Civil Aerodrome.
Turi Widerøe is a Norwegian aviator who was the world's first female commercial air pilot for a major airline. The daughter of aviator Viggo Widerøe,, she was originally educated as a book designer. She later took a pilot's education, and, employed by Scandinavian Airlines System, became the first female pilot in a major airline in the western world. After ending her flight career she worked for numerous cultural institutions such as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, Gyldendal, Oslo Nye Teater and Riksteatret.
Helen Marcelle Harrison Bristol was a pioneering Canadian female civil aviation instructor and the first Canadian Air Transport Auxiliary ferry pilot during World War II.
Julie E. Clark is a retired American aerobatic air show aviator and commercial airline pilot. She started her commercial flying career with Golden West Airlines as a first officer and ended it in 2003 as a Northwest Airlines Airbus A320 Captain. She was one of the first female pilots to work for a major airline, and has been voted as "Performer of the Year" several times for her air show performances.
Willa Beatrice Brown was an American aviator, lobbyist, teacher, and civil rights activist. She was the first African American woman to earn a pilot's license in the United States, the first African American woman to run for the United States Congress, first African American officer in the Civil Air Patrol, and first woman in the U.S. to have both a pilot's license and an aircraft mechanic's license.
Mary Wallace Funk is an American aviator, commercial astronaut, and Goodwill Ambassador. She was the first female air safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board, the first female civilian flight instructor at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and the first female Federal Aviation Agency inspector, as well as one of the Mercury 13.
Kimberly Anyadike is an American pilot from Compton, California. In 2009, at the age of 15, she became the youngest African American woman to complete a transcontinental flight across the United States, from Los Angeles, California to Newport News, Virginia. Anyadike was accompanied by an adult safety pilot, and by a retired Air Force pilot who had served with the WWII Tuskegee Airmen. Her plane was autographed by about 50 Tuskegee airmen as she stopped at different cities across the US, and she completed the round-trip journey in a single-engine Cessna 172 in 13 days.
Charles Alfred Anderson Sr., was an American aviator who is known as the Father of Black Aviation. He earned the nickname "Chief" as chief flight instructor of the Tuskegee Airmen.
Emily Joyce Howell Warner was an American airline pilot and the first woman captain of a scheduled U.S. airline.
Women have been involved in aviation from the beginnings of both lighter-than air travel and as airplanes, helicopters and space travel were developed. Women pilots were also formerly called "aviatrices". Women have been flying powered aircraft since 1908; prior to 1970, however, most were restricted to working privately or in support roles in the aviation industry. Aviation also allowed women to "travel alone on unprecedented journeys". Women who have been successful in various aviation fields have served as mentors to younger women, helping them along in their careers.
Tracey Curtis-Taylor is a British aviator who has organised and piloted multiple flight expeditions with historic aircraft across Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia and America.
This is a timeline of women in aviation which describes many of the firsts and achievements of women as pilots and other roles in aviation. Women who are part of this list have piloted vehicles, including hot-air balloons, gliders, airplanes, dirigibles and helicopters. Some women have been instrumental in support roles. Others have made a name for themselves as parachutists and other forms of flight-related activities. This list encompasses women's achievements from around the globe.
Violet Milstead Warren was a Canadian aviator, noted for being the first female Canadian bush pilot and one of only four Canadian women to work in the British Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) during WWII. With over 600 hours of flight time during the war, she was the longest serving female Canadian ATA pilot. She worked as a flight instructor at Barker Field in Toronto, Ontario, and her students included commercial pilot Molly Reilly and author June Callwood. She is a member of the Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame, the Order of Canada, and the Bush Pilots Hall of Fame.
Azellia White was an American aviator who was one of the first African-American women to earn a pilot's license in Texas. She is recognized as a trailblazer, overcoming widespread perceptions at the time, "that neither women nor African Americans were qualified to fly airplanes." She and her husband ran the Sky Ranch Flying Service, an airport and flight school for African-American aviators.
Susan Mashibe is a pioneering Tanzanian certified pilot, maintenance engineer and businesswoman who founded her own company, VIA Aviation, in 2003. It supports private jet aircraft with services such as refuelling, catering, cleaning and logistics. In 2011, she was recognized as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, and in 2013 was a speaker at the Bush Institute's African First Ladies Summit in Dar es Salaam.
Maria Josep Colomer i Luque, better known as Mari Pepa Colomer, was one of the pioneers of Spanish aviation. She was the first female flight instructor in Spain and the first Catalan woman to earn a pilot's license.
Refilwe Ledwaba is South Africa's first female, black helicopter pilot.
Refilwe Moreetsi, is a South African airline transport pilot, who serves as a Senior First Officer at South African Airways (SAA), the national carrier airline of South Africa. From June 2022, she concurrently serves as the Fatigue Risk Management Specialist (FRMS) at SAA, having served as Deputy FRMS before that; the first black female pilot to serve in those roles in the 90+-year history of the airline.