Where are all the women - MIA????

flyingheritage · **Joined:** Thu Jan 22, 2009 5:00 am **Posts:** 349

In the average family how many females - mum, wives or daughters actually take a interest - serious - in aviation or even warbird segment?

From my experience hardly any and if they do its usual - "that looks nice dear" routine to please the male head of household who is trying to explain that the latest xyz rare bird has just flown etc etc................at about this point most women i know just switch off ... they have heard it all before...

Most males can name a plane, majortiy can least describe a ww2 thingy.. but women seem from my observation dont share our passion maybe cause its a male thing???

Like a shed....

I dont see many women at museums or restorations groups either... on weekends or weekdays gettign dirty and having a go.

Could be the dirt factor is a issue or is it the machinery or the hard yakka?

So how do museums and airshows etc get to attract women in long term.. are there any policies or modifications needed?

Surely would be good to get more females into warbirds.... beside been dragged along by their male counterparts "for a day out thingy"???....

Love to hear what the rest think.. and what can be done to get more women into serious warbirding..

Liza · **Posted:** Tue Apr 14, 2009 7:36 am

I enjoy having the edge of few women at a show, museum, etc. :wink:

In surveys done by ICAS...

- 2008 attendance: Male 61.1%, Female 38.9%

- 1998-2006 average attendance: Male 59.2%, Female 40.8%

- 2008, warbirds ranked 4th for attraction to a show and warbird statics ranked 6th (behind military jet team and modern military).

- 2000-2004, warbirds ranked 3rd for attraction to a show and warbird statics ranked 5th (behind military jet team, modern military, and military statics).

Jack Cook · **Posted:** Tue Apr 14, 2009 8:00 am

Since this isn't a link I'll reply.
My cousin is a AF F-16 pilot with 52 missions in Iraq. She also flew a tour in S. Korean and a is AF Acadamy grad.
She lives to fly and is now instructing in T-38Bs in TX.
My mom also has her license with a tail wheel endorsement.
My wife enjoys flying and has flown in the B-25, Ford Tri-motor, Stearman, T-6 plus various spam cans.

Mark_Pilkington · **Posted:** Tue Apr 14, 2009 8:05 am

.
Women have many hobby's and interests that don't match those of their husbands or males in general, nothing surprising about that.

Its hard to tell if its nature or nurture, but many women enjoy knitting, sewing, cooking, gardening, window shopping, painting that many men find impossible to enjoy.

Equally many women cant find interest in football, car racing, horse racing, hunting, fishing or warbirds, let alone getting covered in grease and paint restoring an old car or aircraft?

I dont see a problem with that, if all women were like men in their interests we wouldnt find them attractive - opposites attract.

However equally, there are a growing number of women who are interested in aircraft museums and flying warbirds, in Australia one of our successful collectors, operators and owners is Judy Pay who started out with a T-28, (the first in the country) and now owns her own maintenance business, along with a flying Harvard, Mustang, Tigermoth etc, and restoring a rare P40F and a Storch to follow on from that. Obviously Judy has a real passion for historic warbirds, and has become emmersed in the hobby for her own interests.

Other women simply enjoy the company of their men and adopt their hobbies as a way of more spending time with them, not neccessarily because they have a great interest themselves.

Take Jack Cook's friend for example, she doesnt like fishing or drinking beer at all, but she is happy to hold Jack's Rod or can for him while he rests on the river bank for a while, as seen in this picture Jack posted of her, she also goes to airshows with him and carries his camera for him, even if its fitted with his large and heavy zoom lens.

I am unsure if she puts it in the same place, or wears the same costume at airshows as she does when helping Jack with his fishing!

http://warbirdinformationexchange.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=17656&highlight=wix+photo

smiles, (as I am sure Jack is too lol)

Mark Pilkington

Elroy13 · **Posted:** Tue Apr 14, 2009 8:25 am

I have a teenage daughter that is following in my footsteps with the whole warbird/airshow package. My fiance is a school teacher who never really knew that the warbird/airshow scene existed until we met. Now shes got the warbird bug and is involved too!! :lol:

I followed my parents footsteps in the early 70's tuggin on their back pockets at airshows because they were involved. My mother is still active in the warbird/airshow community...Down at LSFM there are several wives & girlfriends that are involved just as much as the men!

And thanks for not posting a link!

jet1 · **Posted:** Tue Apr 14, 2009 8:30 am

I think its a matter of priorities and if you are a female pilot you aren't wasting your life away on the internet, cause you are running a business and a household as well.
A more relevant question might be why there are less aviation enthusiasts that are female.

T33driver · **Posted:** Tue Apr 14, 2009 9:27 am

Flyingheritage,

Liza's ICAS survey statistics suggest there is a sizable female contingent in attendance at air shows and from what I've seen women at air shows are almost always attending with a boyfriend or husband. Maybe you're lookin' for love in all the wrong places?? Other sites besides WIX would be more helpful for advice on getting la*d. Go to http://www.airshowlove.com

wacoykc · **Posted:** Tue Apr 14, 2009 11:07 am

I consider myself lucky in that my wife grew up in a Naval Aviation family and had been around airplanes and pilots her whole life. She always wanted to fly but for whatever reason, never took lessons. It was not until we met in 2003 (first meeting was at the airport where I was standing on a ladder with grease/oil all over my shirt and pants removing a cylinder from the Waco). She was totally enthralled by these cool old airplanes and even more so after she got rides. She began taking flying lessons, soloed an Aeronca Champ, then a J-3 Cub and then she bought a Waco and got checked out in that! Now she is a dyed-in-the-wool antiquer and is highly respected among the Waco crowd. She loved it so much that she bought a second Waco which we are finishing the restoration on now. We even had an aviation wedding! The decor in the house is 1920's -40's aviation and she loves the looks she gets taxiing in at a fly-in or airshow in the Waco....especially when they remark "that's a girl flying that biplane"!

I guess the old adage "third times a charm" really hits the mark here!

warbirdcrew · **Posted:** Tue Apr 14, 2009 11:14 am

My Grandmother got a Dehavilland DHC-1 Chipmunk for her 40th birthday present. And then she got her pilot's license. Since then she's probably got more back-seat time in Mustangs, Sea Furies, A-26s, Albatrosses, B-25s, etc than most people do actual stick time. Now she plays golf. Ironically my mom and my aunt hate flying.

TonyM · **Posted:** Tue Apr 14, 2009 11:26 am

My wife knows a B-17 when she sees one, which I consider a personal victory.

And so does my sister-in-law. In fact, my brother's wife had to correct one of her college instructors who could not identify a WWII aircraft while presenting a slide show. My sister in law said, "That's a B-17 Flying Fortress." The instructor was not sure to believe her. He asked "How do you know?" She replied, "Don't ask," obviously painfully reliving all of the B-17 talk, photos and documentary she had been exposed to.

A2C · **Posted:** Tue Apr 14, 2009 11:51 am

Wow, is that really Jacks wife? Outstanding.

Jack Cook · **Posted:** Tue Apr 14, 2009 12:20 pm

Quote:

Wow, is that really Jacks wife? Outstanding.

Chris I think you've reached density altitude :roll:

C5Bgal · **Posted:** Tue Apr 14, 2009 12:45 pm

As of this August, it will be 24 years since I attended my first air show with a co-worker of mine (we' were both 20 something young ladies). I thought it would be interesting since I always was a "closet aviation nut" and we both thought it would be a great place to check out guys. It was the then called "Willow Run Air Show" (no, it was not put on by Yankee Air Force at that time). We had so much fun we both went back the next day, this time I brought my sketch pad. She got a date with one of the local helo pilots and I started drawing the airplanes. And through the years I got much better artistically. I really got into aviation art and the best way to do that is to draw the real thing and talk to the crew to learn more about the aircraft you're drawing. And it lead me to join the Yankee Air Museum 20 years ago and I'm still a member today.

Funny, I was just wondering about this topic earlier today.

Nathan · **Posted:** Tue Apr 14, 2009 3:26 pm

Been keeping away from WIX anymore for obvious reasons. But I had to comment on this thread. First posting links is ok. I know some poeple get in a bunch about them but generally the links posted here are worthy. It is NOT against the rules to post links to other sites. I have no problem with the links. What I have a problem with is someone who is obviously trying to bait people. This thread is obviously trying to bait "anti-sexiest" people. I am sure this steps over the rules of this forum.

Turning off my computer now. :roll:

A2C · **Posted:** Tue Apr 14, 2009 3:51 pm

What? I thought it was in good fun.

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Where are all the women - MIA????

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