Female pilots — three Golden Triangle women pursuing dreams in aviation

GOLDEN TRIANGLE, Miss. (WCBI) – When you fly, you may find yourself peeking into the cockpit to see who’s at the controls.

Most of the time it’s a man. That’s because women only make up 4.4% of pilots in the U.S.

Guts and gusto — that’s what it takes for women to make it in this field.

It also takes determination to step out of your comfort zone.

Three women in the Golden Triangle area have that determination.

Elizabeth Simpson just wanted to fly.

“It was really adventurous, and I could feel in control of everything that you’re doing,” said Simpson.

She’s only been flying for a year, but she stands on the shoulders of the women who came before her like Starkville Mayor Lynn Spruill.

“I flew off of the USS independence in 1979,” said Spruill.

Women like Colonel Samantha Weeks as well.

“I was the first female solo pilot on the thunderbirds,” said Weeks.

These women have a place in aviation history.

“It wasn’t so much my goal to become the first. It was my goal to do it. It just so happened that nobody else had done it. So it’s kind of like being in the right place at the right time,” said Spruill.

That right time was being chosen to be one of the first women to fly in the Navy. She went on to qualify to be the first woman to land on an aircraft carrier.

“It was exciting and very fulfilling to be able to do that,” said Spruill.

Very few women were doing it. In fact, it was less than 1%.

“Women were just not apart of the daily routine where you would see them in a pilot uniform,” said Spruill.

Things have changed.

Just ask Commander Weeks. She’s the head of the 14th flying training wing or as people know it here, Columbus Air Force Base.

“It really goes back to my childhood when I decided that I wanted to be a fighter pilot, and women weren’t allowed to, and my dad actually told me girls can’t do that. And so it’s the boldness and the audaciousness to believe in yourself and dream big and to drive and work hard for your dreams,” said Weeks.

Boldness and audaciousness are exactly what pilot Elizabeth Simpson has.

“I really do like being a woman in aviation because it’s very empowering,” said Simpson.

Another dream taking flight because that’s what dreams do.

Women are, slowly but surely, chasing their dreams in aviation. There has been a 3.4% increase in the last 40 years.