By Charlotte Lomas, Sky News Reporter
More than four decades after the first British female pilot took to the skies in a commercial airliner, there are still few women choosing flying as a career. But why are there so few female pilots?
Of the 3,500 pilots employed by British Airways, just 200 are women and this is more than any other UK airline.
Globally, 4,000 of the 130,000 airline pilots are female and fewer still are captains - worldwide there are around 450.
Helen Macnamara has been a British Airways pilot for 14 years after enrolling on a sponsorship scheme once she left university.
"I like to see the world and different places and I enjoy the magic of flying itself," she said.
"Once you have the passion for it, then that's it really".
Helen, 38, believes the reason so few women go into flying may stem from a lack of opportunities in the past.
She said: "I think historically there were less women involved in aviation and that has been changing throughout my career.
"I think it's important females see this as an option and that there are role models in our industry."
One such role model is TV presenter and now fully trained pilot, Carol Vorderman.
She is planning to embark on a solo round-the-world flying trip and is supporting a recruitment drive by British Airways to get more women in the cockpit.
Carol said: "I always wanted to be a pilot since I was very young.
"It was the reason I read Engineering at Cambridge, and ideally would have joined the RAF or a commercial airline after graduating, but sadly this was not an option then.
"I think the reason so few women enter the profession can be traced back to schools, home and the media. Girls need to be encouraged more to pursue sciences, maths and technology at school and realise different paths are open to them."
Although many women work in the aviation industry as a whole - piloting is still very much a male-dominated profession.
Jim McAuslan, the general secretary of BALPA, the British Airline Pilots Association, is hoping this will change.
He said: "Women make great pilots, unfortunately only five percent of our members and British pilots are women, and that's disappointing.
"So we're reaching out to women to find why they're not coming forward. Perhaps it's because of their choice of careers at an earlier age. Engineering is a great way to get into flying, so perhaps people should look at their careers early on.
"But our big message would be: have the dream."
Some critics argue that women face prejudice when considering a career in flying.
In 2009 a Virgin Airlines advert featuring glamorous female flight attendants flanking a male pilot received complaints it was sexist.
So too did an Air New Zealand in-flight safety video where women were dressed bikinis.
But Helen says that she has never experienced any negativity. Most passengers are simply surprised to have a female pilot, she said.
"Actually when members of the public come to our flight simulator where we train, it is usually the women who fare better than the men.
"They are softer with the manoeuvres and males can be more heavy handed."
In an industry where fewer than 5% of pilots are women it's hoped more will be landing safely on the tarmac in future.
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