Silva McLeod (born 1961) is a Tongan pilot and writer, who in 1992, according to the
Australian Aviation Authority, became the first woman from Tonga to be awarded a pilot's license.
McLeod grew up on the island of
Pangaimotu in
Vava’u,
in a home without electricity.
As a child had an intense interest in aeroplanes, watching them fly over her house as often as she could.
After her marriage in 1980,
she moved to Australia in 1981,
later living in Melbourne,
and it was her husband who purchased her first flying lessons for her.
In 1992, according to the
Australian Aviation Authority, became the first woman from Tonga to be awarded a pilot's license.
By 1998,
at the age of 37, McLeod was working full time as a captain for
Royal Tongan Airlines.
She has also flown for
Aeropelican Air Services,
Royal Flying Doctor Service
The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS), commonly known as the Flying Doctor, is an aeromedical retrieval service in Australia and the largest of its kind in the world. It is a non-profit organisation that provides urgent and emergency medica ...
and for
Virgin International, the latter including
Boeing 737
The Boeing 737 is an American narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Boeing Renton Factory, Renton factory in Washington (state), Washington.
Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the t ...
and
Boeing 777
The Boeing 777, commonly referred to as the Triple Seven, is an American long-range wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The 777 is the world's largest twinjet and the most-built wide-body airliner. ...
aircraft.
McLeod also experienced racism and sexism, whilst working as a pilot.
In 2023, McLeod published her memoir ''Island Girl to Airline Pilot''.
References
External links
The Year That Made Me: Silva McLeod, 1992(podcast)
{{Authority control
Living people
1961 births
Tongan women writers
Women aviators
Women aviation pioneers
People from Vavaʻu
Women memoirists