“If you can imagine every emotion that you can think of happening in one location-nervousness when stepping out to the jet, to the pure excitement of being strapped into one of the most powerful fighter jets in the world, to scared of messing up, to a huge adrenaline rush-it was just all encompassed in my one little glass cockpit.”
‘It is extremely easy to fly’….“It was amazing and a bit surreal,” she said. “Many people don’t realize that females are doing this in the industry-we’re doing it out in the operational world of the fighter communities.”Ĭommenting on the current state of hegemonic masculinity – of its persistent existence – the article on the website of Lockheed Martin that covered her story says interestingly, “While the number of female F-35 pilots in the community is steadily growing, there is still the misconception that flying fighters is not accessible to women in the industry.” It just expects you to perform the way you need to,” said Balzhiser. “The jet really doesn’t know if a pilot is male or female-it doesn’t. Kristin “Mother” Hubbard, flying as her wingman. The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is considered the world’s most expensive weapons program, which will cost the US military $1.5 trillion until it is phased out in 2020.īalzhiser took her first flight in the F-35 at Luke Air Force with her mentor and F-35 flight instructor, Lt. “It was a little bit shocking at first, but once I settled down, I was in awe-I’m still in awe.”
“I’m absolutely humbled and honored to represent Lockheed Martin and fly the F-16 and the F-35, two of the best fighter jets out there,” she said. When she was asked if she was interested in flying the F-35, she initially thought it was a joke, but once the shock and humor subsided, she took up the challenge immediately. Such accomplishments are a reminder of the collective success the movement for gender equality has gained through the years.īalzhiser joined Lockheed Martin in 2018 and was eventually selected to fly the F-16 as a production and training pilot. It is a moment of pride and faith for every woman that comes across her story. The fact that Balzhiser agreed to take on the challenge of flying the world’s most advanced 5th Generation fighter aircraft, is admirable. The official Twitter account, F-35 Lightning II posted on the June 28, “Monessa “Siren” Balzhiser, Martin’s first female F35 production and training pilot, recently took flight AFB”. She has now joined the ranks of an elite group of female F-35 pilots. On June 7, Monessa “Siren” Balzhiser broke the glass ceiling when she flew the venerable F-35 Lightning II as Lockheed Martin’s first female Production and Training Pilot for the stealth fighter.īalzhiser was also credited with being the first female Filipina F-16 Fighter Pilot of the US Air Force.
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