A Life Aloft with Tracey Curtis-Taylor

Tracey Curtis-Taylor, (on the cover of the Winter OQ) is an adventurous aviator, who has retraced some of the most epic routes in flying history, from Capetown to London across the length of Africa, retracing Lady Heath's journey in 1928, and another from England to Australia, flying the same route as Amy Johnson in 1930. She now flies a 1940 Boeing Steerman, and joins the Commemorative Air Force in Camarillo in their events. Curtis-Taylor has created an educational program designed to get more women into flying, as the industry faces a dire pilot shortage and, with fewer than 5 percent of airline pilots as women, they need recruits. She wrote the book, "Bird," about her epic exploits. She is now based in Ojai. We talked about the Golden Age of Aviation, when the best engineers and pilots moved from the Wright Brothers' short hops to the first jet engines and breaking the sound barrier in 1947, an incredible period of progress and energy. She also talked about navigating the boys club of pilots, her crash landing, her upbringing between England and Canada, and much more. We did not talk about Keep Sespe Wild, Jeremy Saulnier films, or the "Magic Art of Tidying." You can learn more about Tracey from her website, BirdinaBiPlane.com