Ladies of Flight

Two French women who made a name for themselves: one for travelling 274 metres and the other for making a real spectacle of herself! What did they have in common? A love of flying…

A bit of a daredevil with a penchant for motorbikes and cars, Elise Raymonde Deroche was born in Paris in 1882. As an actress she was known as Raymonde de Laroche and had heard tales of escapades in the skies from several aviator friends. These included artist-turned-pilot Léon Delagrange who had already flown Thérèse Pelter, the first woman airplane passenger. Inspired by Wilbur Wright’s powered flight exhibitions in 1908, Raymonde begged her friend, pilot and aeroplane builder, Charles Voisin, to teach her to fly. He agreed but, as his aircraft only had one seat, she operated the plane herself whilst he stood on the ground, shouting instructions! Determined and head strong, she first mastered taxiing around the airfield and then took off, some say on the same day, flying just 300 yards (274m). Flight magazine, nicknaming her The Baroness, reported that she circled the airfield twice the next day, “the turnings being made with consummate ease. During this flight of about four miles (6 km) there was a strong gusty wind blowing, but after the first two turnings The Baroness said that it did not bother her, as she had the machine completely under control.” It was a gutsy performance and she not only became the first woman to gain a pilot’s licence but went on to fly at aviation meetings throughout Europe. Undeterred by severe, life-threatening injuries sustained in a crash in Reims in 1910, she was flying again two years later and won the Aero-Club of France’s Femma Cup for a non-stop long-distance flight of over four hours in 1913. Flying was considered to be too dangerous for women during WWI so she served as a military driver instead, chauffeuring officers to the front line! Setting the women’s distance record at 201 miles (323 km) and an altitude record at 15,700 feet (4.8 km) in 1919, she turned her attention to becoming the first female test pilot. Sadly it was not to be as, on 18 July at Le Crotoy airfield, the experimental aircraft she was co-piloting went into a dive on approach and crashed, leaving no survivors. This pioneering, courageous and talented “femme du ciel” has not been forgotten with a statue at Paris Le Bourget Airport, and the Women of Aviation Worldwide Week being held every year during the week of 8 March, the date Raymond obtained her pilot’s licence.