The First Female Pilot of the Boeing 747 Openly Speaks About Being a Woman Doing a “Man’s Job”

While we are living in a world where fewer professions are split along gender borders, aviation still remains a “male” job in the eyes of many people. Lynn Rippelmeyer, the first woman to pilot the Boeing 747, has been shaking that stereotype throughout her exciting career. She started her journey in aviation back in the ’70s, and she was one of the trailblazers who made this profession more open to women. Lynn’s story is very interesting, and when she invited people to ask her anything on this Reddit thread, an avalanche of questions followed.

We at Bright Side selected 12 interesting questions that Reddit users asked Lynn Rippelmeyer, but first we’ll talk a bit more about this incredible woman.

Lynn Rippelmeyer was born in Valmeyer, Illinois. She studied to get her teaching degree in English at the University of Illinois. Lynn’s career in aviation began in 1972 when she started to work as a flight attendant for Trans World Airlines. Later she started taking piloting lessons and then got the required training at Tamiami Airport in Miami where she worked as a charter pilot and a flight instructor.

In 1977, Lynn was hired by Air Illinois, where she worked together with another woman pilot, Captain Emilie Jones. They were not allowed to fly together, but things changed on December 30, 1977. Due to weather conditions, the pilots who were supposed to make the flight couldn’t make it to the airport, and the company allowed Lynn and Emilie to make that flight together. However, the passengers were not aware that the plane was being piloted by 2 female pilots. This was a remarkable event for aviation: the first all-women crew scheduled flight in the USA.

In 1984 Lynn blazed another trail — she became the first woman to pilot a Boeing 747 across the Atlantic Ocean. On that flight, Lynn departed from Newark, New Jersey, and landed in England, welcomed by the press. Later that year Lynn was honored at a charity event called “Women of the Year” in England where she met Princess Anne. Lynn Rippelmeyer retired in 2013.

Lynn’s journey in aviation is truly exciting and it has a lot of happy and trying moments. Here are 12 questions people asked Lynn to learn more about being a woman pilot, along with her honest answers.

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What question would you ask Lynn if you had a chance? What professions are gender-specific today, in your opinion? Do you think things are going to change in the near future?

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