Cork woman makes aviation history

A CORK woman is altering the course of aviation history after becoming the first Irish female to compete as an aerobatic stunt pilot.

Laura Russell, who is a first officer with Aer Lingus, returned to a hero’s welcome after fulfilling her dream of competing in the recent Las Vegas World Advanced Aerobatic Championships.

Member countries vie annually to host the event with a group from the US submitting the winning bid for 2023. The event took place at Jean Airport in Nevada.

Monkstown native, Laura had been preparing vigorously for the event. However, any training took place in the UK due to the niche element of her hobby.

Laura said there are currently few resources available to Irish pilots competing in aerobatics which incorporates the art of airborne manoeuvres coupled with impressive stunts.

The former UCC physics student also teaches aerobatics to other pilots in the UK, many of whom are female.

“We don’t have too many aerobatic aircrafts for this kind of thing which is why I travel to England,” she told The Echo. 

“I also teach at the British Aerobatic Academy. I’ve known the guys there since I started flying acrobatics and they set up the school. As soon as I got my endorsement to teach aerobatics I became an instructor on a part-time basis. I’m actually training a lot of females. There’s one absolutely wonderful woman named Barbara. She is a pensioner who competes at a lower level.”

She described what drew her to instructing.

“Teaching people to fly is absolutely wonderful. It leaves you with a great sense of satisfaction. Teaching people to fly upside down is like a whole other story. It really is magnificent.”

The Aer Lingus trailblazer also enjoys the thrill of competing on a global level. Speaking of her recent experience in Las Vegas she said.

“I had my coach Romain there. The event was down south in the middle of the desert. For someone with a limited interest in flying the entertainment value is only so much which is partly why I travelled by myself to compete.”

Laura is proud to have set as a precedent as the first Irish female pilot in the contest.

“Competing in the world championships means that it’s official now and I’m the first Irish female to do it. In that regard I’m delighted because it’s nice to be making some history for Ireland.”

She described her time in Las Vegas as ‘life changing.’ “It was quite a life changing couple of weeks because it taught me a lot about international competitions and championships. I also learned a lot about the pressure of these events and how best to survive them. They’re almost like a marathon because you are training so hard, the way any athlete going to the Olympics would. You train for years and then suddenly — when you’re at the competition itself — you have to bide your time and ramp up your energy just in time for the performance.”

CONCENTRATION

Ms Russell described a typical competition flight.

“You take off and do a couple of warm up manoeuvres and then you run with your sequence. It’s very short and you’re only in the air for a couple of minutes. The actual sequence of manoeuvres you are being judged on probably lasts four or five minutes at the most, but time is strange when you’re up there because you’re intently concentrating.”

Laura was gifted at first flying lesson courtesy of her grandmother in the early days, setting her on the career path with a difference.

“She bought it for me because I had just passed my Leaving Cert. I probably would have taken that career path at some point but because of my grandmother it happened a lot sooner. She was the catalyst. I was getting ready to go to UCC and everything was brand new and exciting.”

Ms Russell recalled how her grandmother had made the gesture at a time when she was seriously ill.

“She had been in hospital at the time and died very quickly after she bought me that flying lesson. Had she known I was continuing with the lessons she would have been all over it.

“My grandmother was out there and loved the thrill-seeking parts of life. If she was alive today, she would have come up with me several times to do some loops and rolls.”

She spoke about the lure of competitions.

“I often wonder if I will always be doing competition aerobatics. Although I stray into other areas, I am one of those people who enjoys that competitive element. 

"I will probably continue to compete while also keeping in mind that it will always be a hobby. It’s something you do because you love it and not for any renumeration factor. I might consider doing air displaying at air shows and so on but that will be down the road.”

Nerves have never been a issue for the determined Cork pilot.

“When you get to this level there is no fear anymore. For some the sensation of being upside down might be scary at the beginning even if this wasn’t the case for me. Any fear like that is gone when you are at it for this length of time.