Page 87 - World Airnews Magazine January 2020 Edition

SPACE

AEROSPACE INDUSTRY TO TAKE

OFF IN TAIWAN

the Aerospace Industrial Asia Company and Evergreen offered job opportunities by
Development Corporation. Aviation Technologies Corp, industry players even before
The aerospace industry He said that the country have profited from the surg- they graduate.
in Taiwan is expected to should seize the opportunity ing demand from expanded Taiwan is also experiencing
fleets, brisk business at
thrive over the next decade to secure a place in the (US) budget airlines, and aircraft a revival of research and
development in its aerospace
$15 trillion market for the
as the world’s air transporta- next 20 years. replacement needs, according industry three decades after
tion market shifts to the Asia With the business of to CommonWealth Magazine. the country introduced its
Pacific. low-cost carriers booming According to the report, the own indigenous defence
Taiwan’s aerospace sector across Asia, Taiwan is aviation boom has also been fighter jets.
is growing at eight percent well-positioned to become an reflected in the rising need This is propelled in part by
annually, outperforming aircraft maintenance hub in for MRO talent. the programme the country
the global average of four the region. Local companies National Formosa launched in 2017 to build
percent, said Moudy Hu chair- providing aircraft mainte- University department of indigenous jet trainers,
man of the Taiwan Aerospace nance, repair, and overhaul aeronautical engineering, for reported the same magazine.
Industry Association and (MRO) services, including Air instance, is seeing its students Q

WOMEN IN
AVIATION
THREE GOLDEN TRIANGLE

WOMEN PURSUING DREAMS IN

AVIATION

By Deandria Turner

of like being in the right place at the right time,” said Spruill.
That right time was being chosen to be one of the first women
When you fly, you may find yourself peeking into the to fly in the Navy. She went on to qualify to be the first woman to
cockpit to see who’s at the controls. land on an aircraft carrier.
Most of the time it’s a man. That’s because women only make up “It was exciting and very fulfilling to be able to do that,” said
4.4% of pilots in the U.S. Spruill.
Guts and gusto - that’s what it takes for women to make it in this Very few women were doing it. In fact, it was less than 1%.
field. “Women were just not apart of the daily routine where you
It also takes determination to step out of your comfort zone. would see them in a pilot uniform,” said Spruill.
Three women in the Golden Triangle area have that Things have changed.
determination. Just ask Commander Weeks. She’s the head of the 14th flying
Elizabeth Simpson just wanted to fly. training wing or as people know it here, Columbus Air Force Base.
“It was really adventurous, and I could feel in control of every- “It really goes back to my childhood when I decided that I wanted
thing that you’re doing,” said Simpson. to be a fighter pilot, and women weren’t allowed to, and my dad
She’s only been flying for a year, but she stands on the shoulders actually told me girls can’t do that. And so it’s the boldness and the
of the women who came before her like Starkville Mayor Lynn audaciousness to believe in yourself and dream big and to drive
Spruill. and work hard for your dreams,” said Weeks.
“I flew off of the USS independence in 1979,” said Spruill. Boldness and audaciousness are exactly what pilot Elizabeth
Women like Colonel Samantha Weeks as well. Simpson has.
“I was the first female solo pilot on the thunderbirds,” said “I really do like being a woman in aviation because it’s very
Weeks. empowering,” said Simpson.
These women have a place in aviation history. Another dream taking flight because that’s what dreams do.
“It wasn’t so much my goal to become the first. It was my goal to Women are, slowly but surely, chasing their dreams in aviation.
do it. It just so happened that nobody else had done it. So it’s kind There has been a 3.4% increase in the last 40 years. Q

World Airnews | January Extra 2020
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