Just 6% Of Pilots Are Women; How Sullenberger Aviation Museum Aims To Change That

CHARLOTTE – Three women at the Sullenburger Aviation Museum here in Charlotte are working to make sure the next generation of female pilots have a place to learn and the previous generation is preserved.

Katie Swaringen helps decide what goes on display at the museum. WCCB’s Emma Mondo asked her why she chose a specific F-14 tomcat to be part of the “Trailblazing Women Exhibit.”

“The reason that we chose the section by the F-14 Tomcat to feature women is because of a discovery of a female R.I.O who was the back seater in this particular airplane,” say Swaringen.

The R.I.O’s name is Amy Tomlinson, or “Spur” if you use her call sign. Collections specialist Molly Kinyon is working to preserve the aircraft after previous volunteers saw Tomlinson’s maiden name and call sign under the rear window.

“So when we discovered the name, it resulted in this process, where then we’re like, ‘oh my gosh, we need to find this woman’,” says Kinyon. “We had never met her before. So then we reached out, and we found out that she was actually the first female aviator selected to be a Blue Angel.”

The team showed WCCB artifacts that Tomlinson shared with the museum, as well as more items from another female aviator who is being recognized.

Lindsey Jeffries-Jones was the North Carolina National Guard’s first black woman Black Hawk helicopter pilot.

The exhibit will include Jeffries-Jones’ uniform, boots, and gloves, along with Tomlinson’s Blue Angels uniform.  The Trailblazing Women Exhibit is set to open to the public in the summer of 2024.