SAWIA S O U T H E R N A F R I C A N W O M E N I N AV I AT I O N & A E R O S PA C E I N D U S T RY
I N F O R M . C O N N E C T . M O T I VAT E . I N S P I R E
AVIATRIX PROFILES 18 AUGUST 2012
COMMERCIAL AIRLINE PILOTS CAPTAIN JANE TREMBATH
CAPTAIN JANE TREMBATH, A PIONEERING AVIATRIX AT SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS AT THE CONTROLS OF A BOEING 737-800. PHOTOGRAPH: www.trembath.co.za
COMMERCIAL AIRLINE PILOTS CAPTAIN JANE TREMBATH FIRST FEMALE PILOT IN SA QUALIFIED TO FLY THE BOEING 747400; COMMANDER OF THE FIRST SA ALL-FEMALE BOEING CREW & THE FIRST FEMALE PILOT IN SA TO COMMAND LONG-RANGE INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS CAPTAIN JANE TREMBATH is the first woman in South Africa to command a wide-body airliner. Captain Jane started flying in 1982 and joined the airline in July 1988 at the age of 23, being the youngest Boeing pilot. She was the second female pilot at SAA when she joined along with Jenny Burger. In 1993 she was the first woman in SAA to qualify on the Boeing 747-400. She became a captain in 2001. Originally from Cape Town, Jane decided to become a pilot in her Matric year when she flew from East London to the Wild Coast with her parents in a light aircraft and landed on a golf course. After matriculating she started flying lessons and two years later earned her commercial pilot’s licence. In 1985 she was appointed Namib Air’s only female pilot and spent three years as a First Officer. On the 4th September 2001, six women made up the all-female crew that operated a Boeing 737200 from Johannesburg to Port Elizabeth and back. This was a first in SAA’s history. Flight SAA 401 was under Jane’s command. Merel van der Merwe, who started flying in 1988, was the First Officer. The rest of the crew were Emma Nel (Senior Cabin Officer) and Cabin Attendants Bessie Nkwe, Ntombekhaya Hewu and Jolyn Visser. From 2002 to 2005, Captain Jane was the developer and chairperson of the SAA Pilot’s Association Mentorship Programme. SOURCE: http://ancestry24.com/saa-trailblazers
SAA MAKES HISTORY WITH FIRST ALL-WOMEN FLIGHT South African Airways made history on Tuesday when an all-women crew for the first time operated a SAA jet from Johannesburg to Port Elizabeth and back. The flight on a Boeing 737-200 was operated by six women. The commander was Captain Jane Trembath. Trembath, who recently qualified as a captain, said this was a great moment in the 19 years she had been flying.
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“The SAA cadet pilot scheme provides a wonderful opportunity for women to enter the exciting and challenging career of an airline pilot,” she said. Trembath, who commanded her first flight on Saturday during return flights to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe and Maputo in Mozambique, is the second woman captain in the history of SAA. Captain Brenda Howett was the first woman captain. The first officer of Tuesday’s flight was Merel van der Merwe. The flight left Johannesburg International Airport to Port Elizabeth at 6am and returned at 10am. SAPA. September 4 2001.
ARTICLE SOURCE: http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/saa-makes-historywith-first-all-women-flight-1.73414?ot=inmsa.ArticlePrintPageLayout.ot
Q & A WITH CAPTAIN TREMBATH WHAT TYPE OF PERSON DO YOU NEED TO BE TO SUCCEED AS AN AIRLINE PILOT? Focused, responsible, enjoying technology, having situational awareness and co-ordination. It’s only suitable if you have a true calling to be a pilot. WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT YOUR JOB? The variety, the travel, the challenge. Every flight is different! ANY ADVICE FOR TEENS WANTING TO FOLLOW THIS CAREER? It requires sacrifices and it takes time to get there, so be patient, be persistent and don’t give up. Fewer than 10% of airline pilots are women, and when I started I was one of only three in the country.
The way to succeed is to believe in yourself. SOURCE: http://www.hip2b2.org/pages/careers/read.php?id=75
LEFT: CAPTAIN TREMBATH WAS FEATURED IN TRANET’S MAGAZINE, TRANSPARENT, WINTER 2003. BELOW: CAPTAIN TREMBATH PHOTOGRAPH SOURCE: Captain Trembath private collection
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THE HISTORIC ALLWOMAN CREW THAT OPERATED A BOEING 737200 FROM JOHANNESBURG TO PORT ELIZABETH AND BACK. THIS WAS A FIRST IN SAA’S HISTORY. FLIGHT SAA 401 WAS UNDER CAPTAIN JANE TREMBATH’S COMMAND. MEREL VAN DER MERWE, WHO STARTED FLYING IN 1988, WAS THE FIRST OFFICER. THE REST OF THE CREW WERE EMMA NEL (SENIOR CABIN OFFICER) AND CABIN ATTENDANTS BESSIE NKWE, NTOMBEKHAYA HEWU AND JOLYN VISSER. PHOTOGRAPH SOURCE: Captain Jane Trembath private collection
LENASIA SECONDARY SCHOOL HOSTS FEMALE PILOT, CAPTAIN JANE TREMBATH, AT THEIR ANNUAL TEA. It was a day of fashion, lipstick and jewellery as mothers and daughters recently spent time together over a cup of tea at Lenasia Secondary School’s annual event that celebrates the lives of women. Hosted at the school, the event recognised the role of their female teachers, as well as gave women in attendance time off from their busy schedules. Women at the event were also kept entertained by a fashion show, with stunning outfits by the various design houses being modelled on the ramp. Despite the feminine flair of the event, it was certainly not only about all things fluffy and glittery. Guest speakers, gynaecologist Dr V. Naran and pilot Captain Jane Trembath, enlightened the crowd with their talks. While Dr Naran spokes about love, health and wealth in terms of education, Captain Trembath narrated stories about the hardships she experienced in becoming a pilot. Trembath faced all sorts of snide comments in her career, simply because she is female. Initially unable to work as a pilot in South Africa, Trembath landed a flying job in Namibia. In 1988 though, she became one of three women to be the first female airline pilots in South Africa. Trembath stated that despite a successful career, the nasty comments damaged her confidence, and she had to learn how to believe in herself and rediscover her own personal power. SOURCE: http://www.looklocal.co.za/looklocal/content/en/lenasia/lenasia-lifestyle-health-fashion-and-beauty?oid=5 577216&sn=Detail&pid=1171271&Mother-and-Daughter-Tea
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ABOVE: CAPTAIN TREMBATH WAS FEATURED IN SAA’S SAWUBONA, JANUARY 2007. BELOW: CAPTAIN TREMBATH PHOTOGRAPH SOURCE: Captain Trembath private collection
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A BOEING 747 PHOTOGRAPH SOURCE: www.worldofluxury.ro/aviation//541-boeing/23-747
ABOUT THE BOEING 747-400 Following its introduction in 1970, the Boeing 747 became a major success with airlines and the flying public. As the world’s first wide-body jetliner, the 747 had revolutionized air travel, and cemented its manufacturer’s dominance in the passenger aircraft market. In 1980, Boeing announced the 747-300, its latest 747 variant featuring greater passenger capacity. This was made possible by making a stretched upper deck (SUD), previously an option on the 747-200, a standard feature. The SUD was almost twice as long as the original 747 upper deck. However, besides increased capacity, the 747-300 did not offer any increase in range, nor did it include improvements in flight deck technology or construction materials. By early 1984, company officials had identified five development objectives for the latest 747 upgrade: new technologies, an enhanced interior, a 1,000 nautical miles (1,900 km) range increase, more efficient engines, and a 10 percent reduction in operating cost.[10] In September 1984, Boeing announced development of the newest 747 derivative, the “Advanced Series 300”, at the Farnborough Airshow. On October 22, 1985, the type was officially launched when Northwest Airlines became the first 747-400 customer, with an order for 10 aircraft. The Boeing 747-400 is a major development and the best-selling model of the Boeing 747 family of jet airliners. While retaining the four-engine wide-body layout of its predecessors, the 747-400 embodies numerous technological and structural changes to produce a more efficient airframe. Its most distinguishing features versus preceding 747 models are 6-foot (1.8 m) winglets mounted on 6-foot (1.8 m) wing tip extensions, which are found on all 747-400s except for Japanese domestic market versions. The 747-400 is equipped with a two-crew glass cockpit, which dispenses with the need for a flight engineer, along with more fuel-efficient engines, a horizontal stabilizer fuel tank, and revised fuselage/ wing fairings. The aircraft also features new interior with upgraded in-flight entertainment architecture. As on the 747-300, passenger variants include a stretched upper deck as standard. The model has a maximum capacity of 660 passengers with the 747-400D variant,and can fly non-stop for up to 7,670 nautical miles (14,200 km), depending on model. SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_747-400
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