Today marks International Women’s Day and to celebrate, Airfix is proud to highlight some key contributions of women throughout history, as part of an exciting campaign celebrating Women’s History Month, March 2023.
As part of this campaign, aimed to inspire young people, especially young women, to strive for their dreams, we throw a spotlight on women in aviation. Over the course of the month, we will speak with some aviation icons and share key dates and accomplishments of women who changed the face of the aviation industry forever.
In an exclusive interview with Airfix, Kirsty Murphy MBE, the first female Red Arrows pilot, described the pressure of gaining this title when she was first accepted onto the team:
“I don’t want to be the first female in the Red Arrows. I just want to be a Red Arrows pilot.”
Kirsty recalled the application process: “I was very conscious that there hadn’t been any females on the team at that point. One fellow pilot in particular said, ‘I just wouldn’t want to be the first female in the Red Arrows; the pressure will change that experience.’”