Special: International Women’s Day

Pilots,

In honour of the upcoming International Women’s Day, we want to take our hat off to all women across the world and female pilots in military aviation in particular. While it’s true that the majority of pilots throughout history were and continue to be men, there have been women piloting aircraft for almost as long as there have been planes themselves. From early pioneers like Therese Peltier in 1908, to the Soviet ace Lydia Litvyak during WWII, or even astronaut veteran Eileen Collins commanding a space shuttle in 1995, women have always been as eager to fly as anybody and continue to make their contribution to the advancement of world aviation.

Let’s celebrate their great achievements with the following in-game bonuses:

Triple XP for the first victory of the day

The more experienced you are, the better you get! That’s valid for both men and women!

20% extra credits on all Tier III-V planes of all nations

Have ‘Lady Luck’ smile on you this weekend and earn extra credits on all your assignments!

50% discount on paint schemes

Dust off your aviator glasses, polish your shoes and put a nice new coat of paint on your plane in honour of the big occasion!

50% discount on equipment

Conclude a great celebration by picking up additional discounts on all the equipment you’ve always wanted!

The special will run from Friday 7^th March at 07:00 until Monday 10^th March at 06:30 CET (GMT+1).

The world’s first powered aircraft flew in 1902 thanks to the efforts of the Wright brothers. Over the following years, people took to the skies in droves. The first woman to do so was Therese Peltier from France in 1908. Two years later, Blanche Stuart Scott became the first woman to fly solo in 1910. In the same year another French woman, an actress named Raymonde de Laroche, became the first woman to gain a piloting licence. Since then, countless women have flown planes, many leaving their mark on history.

In 1918, Marjorie Stinson became the first female professional pilot when she was appointed to deliver airmail in the US. The first female pilot of a commercial flight was Helen Richey in 1934 when she started to work for Central Airlines. From 1973 on, women were able to start training as pilots with the US Navy.

In 1928, Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic (a feat she repeated solo in 1932) and in 1930 Amy Johnson flew solo from England to Australia. The first solo round the world trip by a woman was completed by Geraldine Mock in 1964.

During World War II female pilots made contributions across the world, particularly in the Soviet Union, which had entire regiments of women flying very dangerous missions led by Marina Raskova. In the USA, Nancy Harkness Love and Jackie Cochran organised women’s flying units in 1942 that went on to become the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP).

Let’s salute all the women pilots of the world today!