Female pilot accident rates

" wrote

I like to fly, but I daresay I don't have whatever it takes to fly an
F-14 in carrier operations. But then, *statistically*, you don't
either. Very few people do.

From a former Naval Aviator.
Being an excellent fighter pilot and landing on an aircraft carrier
is much different than flying jetliners from JFK to ORD.
It's all about "Spatial Orientation", a trait that the Navy tested
for extesively during the training process.

I have posted this previously....here it is again.


The Brain, Richard Restak, M.D.

Based on the PBS Series, "The Brain"


Brain-Sex Differences: Are They Real?

Men generally have better spatial function
than women. This refers to the ability to
mentally visualize and maneuver objects
within three-dimensional space. But among
men who don't produce the male sex hor-
mone testosterone, spatial abilities are poorly
developed. According to Harvard neurolo-
gist Norman Geschwind, "It is very impor-
tant to stress that there are women who
have absolutely superb spatial function and
there are plenty of men whose spatial func-
tion is abysmal. But on the average, men
have better spatial function than women.
One practical consequence involves the dif-
ficulties some people experience in the
immediate discrimination between right and
left. In one study twice as many women as
men reported "frequent" problems in rap-
idly deciding about right-left issues (turning
right at a fork in the road, quickly respond-
ing when asked to raise the right or left
hand, and so on).
Other areas in which brain-sex differ-
ences play a prominent but by no means
exclusive role include:
Language facility. Females generally
speak earlier, learn foreign languages more
easily, and outperform males in tests of
verbal fluency.
Fine hand control. From an early age,
rapid sequential movements are performed
better by girls, who, as a result, exhibit
better penmanship than boys of the same
age.
Mathematical ability. Studies among
mathematically gifted students reveal that
males outnumber females among the supe-
rior achievers. According to Johns Hop-
kins researchers Camilla Benbow and Julian
Stanley, "We favor the hypothesis that sex
differences in achievement in and attitude
toward mathematics result from superior
male mathematical ability, which may in
turn be related to greater male ability in
spatial tasks."
Dyslexia, stuttering, delayed speech, au-
tism, hyperactivity...each of these neuro-
behavioral disorders occurs with greater
frequency in males.
Although the above sex differences are
well established, no one has as yet convinc-
ingly demonstrated an anatomic difference
between the brain structures of human
males and females. These behavioral differ-
ences may be the result of chemical changes
in brain function resulting from the influ-
ence of sex hormones in early prenatal
development.



Bob Moore

On 26 Oct 2004 23:24:44 -0700, "
wrote in
.com::

But women can do ok, given the chance. Debby Rihn-Harvey, Svetlana
Kapanina, and Patty Wagstaff are examples of this.

Don't forget AE. :-)

" wrote in message roups.com...

I am all for that. Same standards, same opportunities. Women can and
do perform well in high-stress environments, generally speaking.

I know full well than some can, so yes I agree. And the competent
ones suffer because of the bad ones. People start painting them
all with the same brush, or however the saying goes.

I like to fly, but I daresay I don't have whatever it takes to fly an
F-14 in carrier operations. But then, *statistically*, you don't
either. Very few people do.

I'll admit that the only cockpit I've ever even SAT in was in a Herc
that was parked at an airshow. But as far as ever being able to fly
an F-14 in carrier operations, we'll never know. Maybe I'm a cocky
s.o.b. but I suspect I'd have had no problems, if I'd chosen that
route--always had great vision, kept very fit, good reflexes/coord., never
had an auto accident, and damn few--very few--tickets, so I'm also
disciplined to obey rules. But of course, I could've also been
a wash-out at it, I don't know. Truth is, I'd have been more interested
in flying the bigger stuff anyway.

But women can do ok, given the chance. Debby Rihn-Harvey, Svetlana
Kapanina, and Patty Wagstaff are examples of this.

Again, I have no doubts of this. But there's too much damn politics
at work today.

---------------

Jose wrote in message . com...
So someone who's lying about who they are is somehow more honest than someone who doesn't lie?

Posting anonymously is not lying about who you are. It's just not saying anything about who you are. Different.

it's not like there's some sort of police coming to get someone
who posts a PIC opinion.

Well, that's not exactly true. In some circles there may actually =be= "PC police", with consequences to one's employment, marital status, or other parts of one's life.

It just seems that many of those with the most extreme
opinions seem to be ashamed of them and don't want anyone to know who they are.

Not wanting anyone to know who you are does not imply shame of opinions. Pcople on Usenet come from different surroundings (and from all over the world).

I have no opinion on the underlying issue, but I do have an opinion on correct reasoning.

Excellent response Jose, I'll give you an A+.

-------------

Cub Driver wrote in message . ..
My point is that many women are now being accepted through lower
entrance standards

I suspect it's the other way around. There are fewer women pilots,
ergo they are selected from a more adept pool of possible applicants.

This logic makes no sense.

And to respond to your other post,

you wrote:

Well, to be fair, that's surely because the woman pilot is still a
rarity. All rarities get mentioned in newspaper stories until it
becomes too politcially incorrect to do so. When I was a young
journalist, it was standard practice to mention the race of a criminal
if he were black. Now of course that is not done.

Indeed, I worked on a newspaper in the process of change. We were
forbidden to mention the race of a defendant in a court martial, so we
vied with each other to come up with the most original physical
description, to see what we could get past the editor.

But in the news reports I've happened to read on these crashes, they
simply mention the names of the pilots, which, in most cases, reveals
gender.

----------

"John Mazor" wrote in message
...
"Gig Giacona" wrote in message
...

"WaltBJ" wrote in message
om...
FWIW I trained women pilots transitioning to the L1011 while working
at Eastern. Without exception they were meticulous pilots who studied
hard and really learned the airplane. I also knew Betty Skelton - she
was a 'pretty good' woman pilot (understatement for effect).
Walt BJ

And how long was it after they transitioned women to the L-1011 that the
company folded?

Frank Lorenzo wasn't a woman.



It's just to close to the damn elections. Everybody has lost thier ability
to see a joke.

NoPoliticsHere wrote:
I know full well than some can, so yes I agree. And the competent
ones suffer because of the bad ones. People start painting them
all with the same brush, or however the saying goes.

Which, of course, you pretty much did with your initial post (I am
sorry, but I couldn't resist- you left yourself open for that one

I'll admit that the only cockpit I've ever even SAT in was in a Herc
that was parked at an airshow.
Nice airplanes. But terribly uncomfortable to ride in.

Wendy

wrote in message
ups.com...
NoPoliticsHere wrote:
I know full well than some can, so yes I agree. And the competent
ones suffer because of the bad ones. People start painting them
all with the same brush, or however the saying goes.

Which, of course, you pretty much did with your initial post (I am
sorry, but I couldn't resist- you left yourself open for that one

I'll admit that the only cockpit I've ever even SAT in was in a Herc
that was parked at an airshow.

Nice airplanes. But terribly uncomfortable to ride in.

Heh. You should have had to ride in the old C-123...would have made you
appreciate the C-130!

Brooks


Wendy

(NoPoliticsHere) wrote in message . com...
C Kingsbury wrote:

As a proud fascist right-wing capitalist pig, what I'd like to know is,
what's yer point? We've already allowed them to fly planes, drive cars, own
property, even vote, so what precisely is it you would like to see done
about the scourge of chick pilots?

That's easy. No special allowances for gender. Female pilots should
be held to the same standards as the guys. If that means two females
in one cockpit, so be it, but make it equitable.

The problem with that is that there are fewer women signing up for the
military to fly than men. In order for the military to quicky meet
their quota they were forced to allow women to fly that did not meet
the same standards or receive the same amount of training time. That
was the case of Lt. Kara S. Hultgreen. Its been about 10 years now, I
hope they've resolved that issue.

-Robert

On 27 Oct 2004 09:47:44 -0700, (Robert M. Gary)
wrote:

(NoPoliticsHere) wrote in message . com...
C Kingsbury wrote:

As a proud fascist right-wing capitalist pig, what I'd like to know is,
what's yer point? We've already allowed them to fly planes, drive cars, own
property, even vote, so what precisely is it you would like to see done
about the scourge of chick pilots?

That's easy. No special allowances for gender. Female pilots should
be held to the same standards as the guys. If that means two females
in one cockpit, so be it, but make it equitable.

The problem with that is that there are fewer women signing up for the
military to fly than men. In order for the military to quicky meet
their quota they were forced to allow women to fly that did not meet
the same standards or receive the same amount of training time. That
was the case of Lt. Kara S. Hultgreen. Its been about 10 years now, I
hope they've resolved that issue.

They most assuredly have resolved it. It's taken some time, but the
early issues of quota filling are long gone. There are still a bunch
from my generation who have difficulty with the concept, but I've had
the opportunity to meet some of the current female tactical aviators
and it appears to me that they are doing a fine job and are fully
accepted by their counterparts.

One active duty, former F-15E A/C and squadron operations officer told
me that in Desert Storm he flew nearly one-third of his combat
missions with a "wing-woman". He's currently at USAFA serving as an
AOC. His wife, also an AOC was an F-15E WSO. Both attend annual River
Rat reunions.

Another woman I've met, entered service as an F-15E WSO, then after
flying combat in Kosovo, got selected for pilot training. She's now an
F-16 pilot in my old squadron, the 421st TFS. At River Rats in
Nashville last year, a group of male aviators--all still active in the
fighter force--told me (without prompting or politically correct
superiors hovering nearby) that "most of us have to work our asses off
just to be mediocre, she is outstanding without even trying". They
wouldn't say such things without good reason.

It has taken some time, but it has now been around 25 years and the
generations have changed the old thinking about gender roles.



Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
www.thunderchief.org