First Woman in the world received Pilot License: Raymonde de Laroche (22 August 1882 – 18 July 1919), born Elise Raymonde Deroche, was a French pilot and the first woman in the world to receive an aeroplane pilots licence. Detail: Raymonde De Laroche (1882 – 1919), an experienced French balloonist, was the first woman to earn a pilot license worldwide on March 8, 1910. Born Elise Raymonde Deroche, daughter of a plumber, Elise became an actress and used the stage name Raymonde de Laroche. After riding in an airplane, she decided to add “pilot” to her list of accomplishments and jumped at French aviator Charles Voisin’s offer to teach her to fly. On October 29, 1909, just after her twenty-third birthday, Raymond met Voisin at the Chalons airfield where he and his brother, Gabriel, built and flew their own planes. The Voisin was a one-seater with no room for both student and instructor. The pupil had to sit in the plane and listen to the instructor shout orders from the ground. Raymonde was instructed to drive the plane down the open field. She was not, under any circumstances, allowed to lift off. However, she had a mind of her own. After her first taxi around the field, she knew she was ready for take-off. Against her instructor’s orders, she opened up the throttle, raced down the airstrip and rose about fifteen feet in the air. In 1919, Raymonde set two womens altitude records, one at 15,700 feet (4,800 m); and also the womens distance record, at 201 miles 323 km).
Posted on: Sun, 14 Sep 2014 11:29:43 +0000