Women who lead
From saving lives as a police negotiator and flying fighter jets to performing daredevil stunts, three women share what they learned from their careers
Mandy Hickson, 50, was one of the first female fast-jet pilots in the RAF, serving on the front line during the Gulf conflict in Iraq.
Iwas 13 when the air cadets opened its doors to girls and was one of the first to join. My grandad had filled my head with his tales of flying in the Second World War. Women couldn’t be RAF pilots then, so I thought I’d join the police, but my first flight with the air cadets changed that. Flying is like dancing in the sky; there’s no freedom like it.
Flying was all I wanted to do. I got my private pilot’s licence before I learned to drive!
As a student, I joined the University Air Squadron and completed 160 hours of flying. While at university, the RAF started allowing women to serve on the front line. I applied twice, but failed the aptitude tests. Luckily, my air squadron boss believed in me and had two impartial examiners assess me – they both graded me above average. It turned out many women were failing the computerised aptitude tests, because they’d only been tested on men before. The RAF took me on as an air traffic controller. Once in, I fought to be accepted on to the pilot training course.
Fast-jet training takes about five years. It’s a mix of ground school, where you learn the principles of flight, mechanics, meteorology and, in those days, Morse code; flying in a simulator and memorising switches using a cardboard cockpit; and actual flying. I began in a small propeller aircraft, which flies at 120mph, then the Tucano, which goes double that. From there I moved on to the Hawk, which the Red Arrows fly. After that, I trained to become only the second woman to fly a Tornado GR4 on the front line.
I had a positive experience in the RAF, but I was treated differently: remarks such as, ‘We can tell which plane Mandy flew, the one that’s badly parked,’ or ‘Mandy will be late to the debriefing as she’s doing her makeup.’ I developed a thick skin.
My first deployment was defending the no-fly zone in Iraq; I flew 45 combat missions in three years. I remember seeing little black clouds around me and wondering what they were, until I realised it was gunfire, aimed at us. We quickly got out of there. Later, I saw footage of who was shooting – he was just a boy. It felt futile and very sad.
As the UK’s first Black British female stunt performer, Amanda Foster, 55, has more than 300 film and TV credits to her name.
As a stunt performer, no two days are the same. I could be executing an epic fight
