New Goodwood Aero Club Ambassador Pauline Vahey

Pauline Vahey has a formidable CV; at present, she is the Director of Aviatrice Ltd, is a Board Director of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, a former Chairman of the British Women Pilots’ Association, Chairman of GAIN (General Aviation Infrastructure Network) and a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) Ambassador. But while this list of titles is highly impressive, it only tells half the story. Pauline has arrived in these positions because of her passion for aviation and her desire to encourage more people – particularly women and young people – into the industry.

Her own love of flying was born out of admiration for her late Father, who flew Wellington Bombers during WWII. “He had some wonderful stories – such as flying a Wellington Bomber under bridges – and that inspired me,” she says. “I decided there were three things I wanted to do in life; explore the Amazon jungle, speak French and learn to fly. I have yet to get to the Amazon and while my French is ok, flying is the one that has definitely stuck.”

After studying Maths at Imperial College, Pauline was invited by a friend who had just passed his PPL to fly in a Cessna 152 at Biggin Hill. “I loved it, but having just finished university, there was no way I could afford to learn to fly,” she said. “So I went to Bicester, where they had a military gliding club, which allowed a few civilian members. When I got in a glider I was completely smitten – the acceleration at launch was incredible. I glid for ten years and became a gliding instructor. I did go for my Class 1 medical at the time, but my eyesight wasn’t sufficient, unfortunately. At that point, all dreams of a flying career were put to one side and I began working in software, but I did convert my gliding license into a PPL in 1987.”

Though a career as a commercial pilot was not possible, that did not curtail Pauline’s desire to work in aviation. Roles in sales and business development in the software industry were followed by providing sales consultancy to SMEs, but after working independently she chose to apply those skills and experience to helping clients in GA.

Home now for Pauline is Stoke Poges in South Buckinghamshire and while she flew for ten years out of her local airfield, Denham, she now flies Cessnas frequently from White Waltham. A part-time job in Ops there gave her insight into how airfields are run.

From a recreational perspective, touring is where she derives most pleasure from flying. 

she continues. “I can’t just get in a plane and go, drawing lines on maps makes me feel satisfied. There’s also that moment when you’re on the threshold and you have that thought, ‘am I capable of doing this?’ You have to ‘screw your courage to the sticking place’ and as soon as you put that throttle forward, that’s it. The other draw is that life is stressful, but when you fly you leave all that stress behind on the threshold and focus on the job of getting it right.”

The ‘job of getting it right’ is something that Pauline believes women are more than capable of doing. As a former Chairman of the BWPA, her objective is to encourage women into aviation either as a career, or as a recreational activity. As an example of how the organisation is working with the industry, Pauline explains; “We formed a partnership with EasyJet, as they wanted to double the number of females they had in the cockpit to 12% of their pilots, so we started the ‘Amy Johnson Initiative.’ They achieved this goal in two years and are now aiming for 20%. I also go into schools and other places where there are young women and speak to them about the opportunities that are out there to become pilots. Women have broken into all sorts of professions, but aviation still seems to be a bastion of male dominance.”

As well as encouraging women into aviation, Pauline also champions the rights and privileges of all those in the GA (General Aviation) sector. Chairing the members’ working group and the corporate members’ committee of the AOPA, she works to lobby at European Aviation Safety Authority and Civil Aviation Authority level. “We are unique in the UK, in that we are independent – we are not working for the CAA or others, we can disagree with what they say!” she says.

Ensuring that the infrastructure for GA continues to remain strong in the UK is another of Pauline’s focus areas, through her role with GAIN. “Obviously an airfield looks like a perfect flat space on which to build housing, especially as many are viewed as ‘brownfield’ sites,” she says. “We are trying to work with the planners and local communities to show them the positive economic effect that an airfield has and will continue to have. There is a £60bn aerospace and engineering sector in the UK, which is growing in double digits and which GA is a huge part of – 38,000 people are employed in GA and it contributes £3bn to the economy. Having these small airfields makes aviation accessible at a grass roots level. In Germany you need to go to national public consultation to close an airfield, which is a law that we are keen to see implemented in the UK.”

With so much already going on in her life, it is a wonder that Pauline has agreed to become the first ambassador for the GAC. However, pleasingly she has always held the Aerodrome in high regard. “I used to be a GAC member and what I like most about Goodwood is the people,” she says.

It’s a very professionally run place and you could never ever describe Goodwood as ‘shabby.’ I also love the House and I find the Festival of Speed very exciting. The Revival is my favourite event because it is so much fun to fly in and dress up for it.”

We greatly look forward to welcoming Pauline back to Goodwood – as often as her schedule allows!