Barbara Harmer (14 September 1953 – 20 February 2011) was the first qualified female Concorde pilot.

Early life

Born in Staples Road,

Loughton, Essex Loughton () is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex. Part of the metropolitan and urban area of London, the town borders Chingford, Waltham Abbey, Theydon Bois, Chigwell and Buckhurst Hill, and is northeast of Chari ...

, the youngest of four daughters, she was raised in Bognor Regis, a seaside resort in West Sussex, England, where she attended a

convent school Catholic schools are pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered under the aegis or in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest religious, non-governmental school syste ...

. She left school aged 15 to pursue a career in hairdressing.

Aviation career

Harmer's first experience in the aviation industry was five years later when she left hairdressing to become an air traffic controller at

London Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after Hea ...

. When she took on the job of air traffic controller Harmer decided to study for

A Levels The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...

with the intention of doing a law degree. She obtained A levels in Geography, English Law, Constitutional Law and Politics. She also began flying lessons, gained her

Private Pilot Licence A private pilot licence (PPL) or, in the United States, a private pilot certificate, is a type of pilot licence that allows the holder to act as pilot in command of an aircraft privately (not for remuneration). The licence requirements are dete ...

(PPL) and became an instructor at Goodwood Flying School. Harmer studied for two years to gain a Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL), which she obtained in May 1982. She then made over 100 applications before securing a job as pilot at Genair, a small

commuter airline A regional airline is a general classification of airline which typically operates scheduled passenger air service, using regional aircraft, between communities lacking sufficient demand or infrastructure to attract mainline flights. In North ...

based at Humberside Airport. In March 1984, Harmer joined British Caledonian and flew

BAC One-Eleven The BAC One-Eleven (or BAC-111/BAC 1-11) was an early jet airliner produced by the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Originally conceived by Hunting Aircraft as a 30-seat jet, before its merger into BAC in 1960, it was launched as an 80-se ...

s for three years. She then started flying the long haul McDonnell Douglas DC-10. In 1987, British Caledonian merged with British Airways, the airline operating Concorde in the UK. At that time, British Airways employed over 3000 pilots, but only 60 of them were women and no woman had ever piloted Concorde.

Flying Concorde

Harmer was chosen to undergo the intensive six-month conversion course for Concorde in 1992. On 25 March 1993 Harmer became the first qualified female Concorde pilot and later that year made her first Concorde flight as First Officer to New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK).

Jacqueline Auriol Jacqueline Auriol (5 November 1917, Challans, Vendée – 11 February 2000) was a French aviator who set several world speed records. Biography Born in Challans, Vendée, the daughter of a wealthy shipbuilder, Edmond Pierre Douet, she graduate ...

was the first woman to fly Concorde as a test pilot. By the time Concorde was withdrawn from service in October 2003, Harmer had served 10 years as a pilot flying regular scheduled services. In 2001, an Air France pilot, Béatrice Vialle, had become the second of only two women to fly Concorde on regular routes by making some 35 trips between Paris and New York before the service was withdrawn. After Concorde, Harmer converted to the Boeing 777 until taking voluntary redundancy in 2009.

Later life

Harmer's interests were not all in the air as she was a qualified commercial

yachtmaster A Yachtmaster qualification is a certificate of competence of the ability to handle either a sailing boat or motor boat (as endorsed) in certain prescribed conditions. Three different titles are specified; Yachtmaster Coastal (previously - and in ...

, often taking part in international events commanding fellow Concorde crew members and winning several races. She also created a Mediterranean-styled garden at her home in Felpham, West Sussex overlooking the English Channel. Harmer intended to take part in a transatlantic event in 2013 in her yacht ''Archambault 35'' but succumbed to cancer. She died at St. Wilfrid's Hospice, Chichester, aged 57.

References

External links

Forum with another picture of Captain Harmer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harmer, Barbara British aviators People from Felpham 1953 births 2011 deaths Concorde pilots Air traffic controllers British women aviators Women commercial aviators People from Loughton