The British Women Pilots' Association

An Organisation for Female Pilots and Women Who Are Learning to Fly

Oct 19, 2009

The BWPA has been around for over 50 years, catering for commercial pilots, military pilots, private pilots, and student pilots. Here is a brief account of what they do.

Members of the British Women Pilots’ Association (BWPA) fly aeroplanes, helicopters, microlights, hang-gliders, and even balloons. They include a number of famous record breakers such as Judy Leden (hang gliding record breaker) and Jennifer Murray, the first woman to fly round the world via both poles. Some members earn their living from flying, and others are ordinary women pilots who fly for fun. The organization was set up soon after the Second World War, and celebrated its 50th anniversary a few years ago. It has between 300 and 400 members across the UK and some in other countries too.

The Aims of the BWPA

BWPA Activities

The BWPA has a regular programme of events throughout the UK, both national and more locally through its regional officers. These include fly-ins, meals out, and visits to aviation-related places of interest. There are also talks and workshops on subjects important to flying, such as meteorology, navigation, and radio use. These are all organized through the BWPA Committee, which has regular meetings at Cranfield Airfield in Bedfordshire.

The BWPA newsletter

The association’s newsletter is published quarterly, and distributed to all members, plus free copies to most flying schools within the UK. It includes articles written by members, reports of recent BWPA events, and news of the organization and the wider aviation world.

BWPA Scholarships, Bursaries, and Awards

The association presents a number of awards to its members and other women pilots, and has a varying number of scholarships and bursaries available. These are all designed to encourage more women to fly and take part in aviation related activities. The awards are presented annually at the organizations Christmas Lunch, which is the main social event of the year, usually attracting a large number of members, plus family and friends.

The BWPA is an extremely useful and enjoyable organisation for women pilots in the UK. Women can become full members if they are pilots are ex-pilots, while student pilots can become associate members. More details and an application form can be found on the BWPA website.

The copyright of the article The British Women Pilots' Association in Aviation is owned by Helen Krasner. Permission to republish The British Women Pilots' Association in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.