The Road to Wings

by Julie Tizard

  “I love you too, Kathryn, to the stars and back.”

  Author’s Note

  Women were first accepted into U.S. Air Force undergraduate pilot training in 1977. They were very restricted in the aircraft they were allowed to fly. Women could only fly air refueling tankers, airlift transports, and training aircraft. Women had to meet the exact same flying standards as male students, including leading four-ship T-38 formations. Women selected as instructor pilots had to be fighter and instructor qualified to fly the T-37 and T-38 aircraft.

  Congress overturned the Combat Exclusion Law in 1993. The repeal of this law finally allowed women military pilots to fly fighter, attack, bomber, tactical airlift, and reconnaissance aircraft.

  Over 100,000 LGBTQ service members were given dishonorable discharges from all branches of the military until President Obama removed the prohibitions to their service in 2011.

  About the Author

  Julie Tizard has been a professional pilot for over thirty-five years. She is one of the earliest women pilots to graduate from U.S. Air Force pilot training. She was an Instructor Pilot flying the T-37 jet trainer and an Aircraft Commander flying the KC-10 air refueling tanker. She served in several leadership positions including Flight Commander, Chief of Pilot Upgrade, Chief of Flight Safety, and Squadron Commander. She retired as a Colonel from the Air Force Reserve after twenty-five years of service.

  Julie is a captain at a major airline and currently flies the Airbus 320. She has flown the Boeing 737, 757, 767, and the DC-10. She was an instructor pilot and line check airman on the Boeing 737. She also flies her own aircraft, a T-67 Firefly, a military trainer. When not flying, reading about flying, talking about flying, or attending air shows, she can be found renovating houses, playing a baritone horn in the local LGBT band, and traveling like a normal person. She is the first woman military pilot to be writing lesbian fiction. She lives in Arizona, and The Road to Wings is her first novel.

  Contact her at JulieATizard@gmail.com or at www.JulieTizard.com.

  Books Available From Bold Strokes Books

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