Updated at 10:24 a.m.
Women are no strangers to the aviation industry. E. Lilian Todd designed and built aircraft in 1906. Amelia Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean in May 1932. Helen Richey was the first woman pilot for a U.S. commercial airline in 1934 - and Eileen Collins was the first female pilot and commander of a Space Shuttle.
But during the last two decades, the aviation industry has seen a steady increase of female involvement. In Central Texas some colleges offer aviation programs for students entering a still male-dominated field.
At Texas State Technical College in Waco, the 2-year aviation program offers a variety of careers in the industry – including pilot training.
21-year-old Haley Bowman is a student in the pilot training program at TSTC.
She said she originally wanted to be a Biomedical Engineer, but decided on becoming an airline pilot after wanting to travel.
“The best way to do that was to fly and travel at the same time – instead of being stuck behind a desk and work to travel,” Bowman said.
Bowman was also 1 of 21 female students out of the 111 students in the pilot program at TSTC during this Spring semester.
She said there is typically only one other female in class with her and usually flies with a male flight instructor.
But, she said she has never felt singled out for being a woman.
“I mean, everyone has equal opportunity and then we’re all trying to do the same thing."
The only challenge she said she faces is the cost.
“Flight training is pretty expensive," Bowman said. “You have the cost of renting the airplane and you have the cost of renting the instructor and the cost of fuel.”
Data from the Federal Aviation Administration,found nearly 37,000 female pilots held airmen certifications in 2009.
In 2018 that number increased to just over 46,000 female pilots.
These include women who were pilot students, recreational flyers, sport flyers, as well as females in the private, commercial and airline transport sectors.
“Well I think for about the past 5 years we’ve started to see an increase in female pilots, but I think that’s got to do with many different avenues," Angel Newhart said.
Newhart is the statewide division director of Aerospace at TSTC. She said she works on the budget, recruits and supports the department chairs.
Newhart said the increase can be traced to more female pilots students coming from Baylor’s Institute for Air Science, as well as an overall increase in interest for the program.
Tim Compton is the assistant director for the Baylor Institute for Air Science. He said there are a total of 9 females of 48 active flight training students in their program. He says students can choose to flight train at TSTC, but some have also trained at Waco Regional Airport or in McGregor.
Both TSTC and Baylor have about 19% female representation in their pilot programs. Compton says this is about double the national average compared to other colleges.
Newhart said TSTC has used different recruitment methods, like visiting Oshkosh, an annual gathering of those interested in aviation – as well as joining all-female air races like The Air Race Classic.
“We’re looking for air races that all of our students can join, not just the females," Newhart said.
Newhart also said they sometimes hire back students after they finish and become certified pilot instructors, or CFIs. She said if more women were to graduate and become certified, then more female flight instructors could be there for the students.
As of this past semester, there were only 3 women out of 16 flight instructors at TSTC.
Beth Ramirez is also a student in the aerospace program at TSTC - but is also a Baylor student.
Like Bowman , Ramirez said a difficulty was also the cost.
“I didn’t think it was possible and then one day it became possible," Ramirez said.
Ramirez joined the aerospace program after switching from an art major. She says she’d like to become an aerobatic pilot one day.
“I don’t want anyone to think I’m different just because I’m a girl, like I’m the same,” Ramirez said.
As for any women or girls wanting to become pilots – Ramirez offered up some advice.
“You can do anything you want – literally anything."
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story had a source incorrectly say the cost was about $11,800 per semester. The tuition for the pilot program is about $10,500 for all five semesters plus the added costs of flying.