The Colombian Air Force participated in the First Meeting of Aviation Women "Forum 4.0 a vision towards 2030", a space to highlight the leadership of women leaders in aviation at national and international level and motivate new generations to Be part of the sector.
Captain María Alejandra Charry, the first pilot of the Black Hawk helicopter was in charge of representing all the women who have marked the history of the Institution, and have worked for military aviation, sharing her testimony that is inspiration for new generations.
Before an auditorium full of women, Captain Charry, expressed her pride of having a position that is traditionally held by men, in 2016 she became the first pilot of a Black Hawk helicopter, a dream she saw unattainable but that with discipline and tenacity she could materialize.
The first woman pilot of this helicopter began her presentation with the projection of a photograph of the first course of regular women dressed in flying overalls, who entered the Military Aviation School in 1997, followed by another photo of the celebration of the traditional "Flight alone" with the classic airplane oil bath; the starting point of women in the specialty of piloting.
From that moment women began their career as military pilots in the Colombian Air Force being part of the Tucano aircraft crews, employed in the armed conflict, Citation 560 with the closure of borders; but only after seven years the first female crews entered an helicopter, exercising their role under the same pressure of men, while remaining women, mothers, wives, working alongside the troops.
“I never thought of being a military, I am the only military in my family and when I said in a formation that I wanted to fly Black Hawk they told me I was crazy, in 2008 I was denied to have the opportunity to enter and I continued flying in other helicopters living very difficult situations where I made everything I learned in my School and I now saw that every instruction they gave me there (sometimes it didn't make sense to me) was to be implemented in critical moments.
We always get used to seeing what we do as normal, but when we have the opportunity to share it with other people, we realize that it is an extraordinary labor, that’s why at the time of being the first to get to fly this aircraft I want the others to arrive, it is like being the first to open the door to co-pilots and crews of the Black Hawk and I wonder how we achieved it? It's been more than 20 years in which women have held critical positions, 27 percent of Air Force officials are women, but only 9 percent are of the flight corps; so let's go for more!
Source: Colombian Air Force
