As 23 June is National Women in Engineering Day #NWED2016, I thought I would write about Amy Johnson, who although known for her record breaking flights, was also the first women to receive a Ground Engineer’s ‘C’ Licence from the Air Ministry.

Amy developed a passion for flying at Stag Lane Aerodrome in London and achieved her full pilots licence in July 1929 after making her first solo flight in June the same year.

Having received her pilots licence, Amy knew that if she wanted to earn a living from flying, it was vital that she understood how an aircraft worked and what to do it if did not.  Although having only recently passed her pilot’s licence, Amy was keen to push ahead and was already considering the possibility of longer solo trips and also had an ambition to be an agent for De Havilland.  Understanding the workings of an aircraft and being able to fix it on the ground was therefore an imperative step that Amy needed to make in the right direction.

At that time, the Air Ministry had not yet issued any Ground Engineer Licences to women, but not letting that stop her, Amy persevered in the male dominated environment of the hangers at Stag Lane.  She fitted in her day job in an office, around having engineering lessons in the hangers, often starting early in the morning and finishing late at night and also during weekends.  Having undertaken an oral test during which she answered questions from a five man panel, she received her Ground Engineer’s ‘C’ Licence in December 1929.

Her next goal was then to obtain her Ground Engineer’s ‘A’ Licence so that she could inspect aeroplanes, as the ‘C’ Licence covered just the engine. With her usual determination and dedication, Amy received the ‘A’ Licence in March 1930 and as a result of the two engineering qualifications was able to upgrade her membership of the RAeS from Companion to Associate Member.

During this time, Amy had also been steadfastly making plans to fly solo from England to Australia and two months after receiving her ‘A’ licence she set off for Australia.  She took 19 days to make the flight and achieved recognition as the first female to fly solo from England to Australia.  As you’d expect her engineering knowledge came in handy during the flight as she encountered various problems along the route.  Landing in Rangoon, she mistook an athletics track for a racecourse and ended up in a trench which resulted in quite a bit of damage to Jason her Gypsy Moth aircraft.  Luckily she had some help from students at a local technical institute, who helped her to repair the aircraft.

Amy achieved a number of record breaking flights and was the recipient of various awards throughout her distinguished career as an aviator.  Sadly during the Second World War when serving as a member of the Air Transport Auxiliary, her aircraft crashed and she died whilst on a flight over the Thames.

I’d have loved to have met Amy and asked what motivated her and how she coped flying solo as she did on many of her flights, over what was at times isolated and hostile terrain. 

Source – Amy Johnson, Queen of the Air by Midge Gillies and the Womens Engineering Society