European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 23, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Profile Michele Jett flying very High in the cockpit boo state staff writer in a world of earthbound Lull where so marry plod drearily through Llu daily Drudge just it nuke Illo trivia i she s 15 now Mil Riding the Douds somewhere Over Europe. The name s right left. Michele Lett. Tilt first woman Lolly in a Lufthansa cockpit. Is it ins i he seat Between and just behind the  and first officer Hen is the Small hand  grip the throttle Mil pushes for Jarl in the command Takeoff  and the big passenger loaded Jet snarls roaring Down the runway. By f 0 knots the Captain lakes the throttle but in is 110-Pound flight Engineer Michele etl who firs gels Hal f 0 Lorn of birr on i to Way to the sky she s flown ,1 lung , baby bul she could have easily been permanently grounded. Growing up in a California Beach culture of muscle Guys and surf bunnies where she said a girl s ambition usually flamed no higher irian hanging out Day on the Beach and working nights in a mexican restaurant serving pm up Salty to the Margarita and Tortilla flip gang. Noble goals to be sure. But Michel of the technical mind and tinkering hands wanted More Ulof life i Han knowing i hat the surf was up. She served margaritas with one hand and Gat a Job pumping Gas with id other. Gas was More interesting than margaritas. Slit1 was the first girl in her school to gel permission to Wear trousers in Auto shop so she could  under and see what made the belly of a car growl. Oul of High school in i he Early 70s, Michele joined in Waif Force. She scored so High on her electronic and mechanical tests thai the Lille girl who had grown up taking things apart and pulling them Back together again become of ill things an aircraft Mechanic irn ring Down b-52 engines and putting them Back Togo thai again and that satisfied my technical urge for  though gelling dirty and working All nigh in the rain on c-14 is and c-5as also had its moments there was another Side to Michele the Side that liked to sew and Cook Wear clean clothes and look like a recognisable woman instead of a grease Monkey. My brain was t gelling where i wanted it logo either she says so when Opportunity came to go to flight Engineer school she grabbed in with both clean hands. After her hitch in the air Force she worked As flight Engineer on Sale Side Aidines like us to parcel service and people express. Then in August of inst year she heard that Lufthansa was hiring flight engineers and she wrote to them. Lufthansa s reply was thai they were very interested that an interview was arranged for september and a possible Start Date of october a perfect timing she says. Except that All the correspondence had been addressed to Miller i Ell. So i called them up and said excuse me bul i am Aims Ell. Do you hire women As flight engineers and they said Well we never have yet bul come for an interview and if you qualify., " breakthrough. Nol Only was she an american she was a she. Michele from Beach Bunny land received her wings and three Golden stripes As Radil Purul conventional Lufthansa s i in woman cockpit member. The reaction of the flight Crews at first Shock. I got  at. Who n this what is this lie stripes she Musl Livi the wrung uniform in i fell like i had grown a Uil Al times. Cerni in we Man Hod been raised not even to think of a Jib in the cockpit. Bul the stewardesses came up and congratulated they i might in  ," Ami the men. Slime of the older German pilots Lourd at her with misgivings she says like  move la ii men were so Nice to me in polite. I mid Ihnn Michele if ii has no tear of flying quite the opposite. In fact. That i am a woman but i m also a flight Engineer. If you need to yell at me for something yell at my. I won t cry. I am a. Flight  what is a flight Engineer the flight Engineer is the technical expert of the aircraft. The Pilot keeps the arc rail right Side up and i keep it running. Environments and fuel and engines. While the aircraft is still Silling the first officer does the before Star Check list. As soon As it s switched Over to ship s Power the checks Are up to me Tho Utah we re always Cross checking each other. I go through a flow where i m Retting the generators on line turning the fuel system on turning hydraulics on. A whole panel of switches to work with. When the Captain save in take off i set the Power Selling Walch the engine pressure ratio gauge Lake the throttle ,. Once in flight i m monitoring All the systems making sure everything is running right watching our oxygen our Oil pressure our Oil temperature constantly monitoring the engines watching our pressurization keeping it warm Back there fur the passengers. I m monitoring our general hrs checking to see that engines Are humming perfectly. All that s incur paraded Inlo How heavy we ire How hoi in is outside the relative humidity the pilots Are doing the flying and the navigating. I m Cross checking them and they re Cross Cheikin me. We keep an Eye on each other. It s a Crew i Oncil everything is Rione with such Etc at Standardi Ilion it s incredible and that s what makes in Safe up i Here. The training is so i Borough and Interne that you fwd you can just Spring into .11 lion do whatever needs to be done no Mailer  is she really so confident she Muld handle in if the going gets Tough she smiles t he by Vii Eves . Michele it l a part i Railian russian and none of in is missing Toni the Inri Hose eyes when she says i know i can  Fiji a milled in. I Luul even thinking i be iliini1 in Milu a Linn Hnit Ini when in i Nunzid like Euini it it Siviy in outs. The training is that Good and i be shocked myself that i was that Good gooral. But is she really Happy in her work i Don t have Lime to daydream in this Job. Bul sometimes when we break through the Clouds and maybe it s storming and raining downstairs and i look out and the Sun is shining and the Clouds Are gorgeous and in s just thrilling just Awe inspiring. Anil i m Silliau there thinking this is it  she s been flying in with Lufthansa for six months and seven Days. I almost count the minutes. It s sort of hard to explain what it does to me flying., ii just makes my heart real  flying the big jets is never humdrum she says. Al times even the Cool professional automatic Side of he slips away and the Lille Flirl takes Over marvelling in the seeming miracles of takeoffs and landings some Days it seems like we re hardly moving and like that we re off the runway. Other Days when in 4 holler maybe Down in Ankara and we re heavy full of fuel and passengers we use up nearly the whole runway getting up. That s Why in s so exciting different. Different fuel different temperatures weather., heal rain Snow ice on the runway you have to figure All that in. And then to be Way up in the sky and look Down and see that Liny strip of land about an Inch long.,. To think How amazing it is that we re Guin to land this thing Way up Here on that Little Inch  Down there. But then the  in me takes Over and i know that we Are definitely going in Duil. We re program i to in do in. The data is jul so thought  Michele Ell loves flying in ninth she even finds it slim Lalong when they inn Inlo bumping ship shaping turbulence. "1 Hen we re really flying,.,. In s challenging Exi Iling to circumnavigate a storm. You know there s some pretty violent action up Liitt to by  that big plane around like Thill. No in s not particularly dangerous because i know we re trained in handle  and pm the ground Michele the Jeller till Ink the thrill at bring Ible in spend 1ht in flail and tit Cmith  in Plues like Athens Liui Dnn Anil i Aris. A lout a Iroini sipping   in Surl Tity. 20 trip i Magazine apill23, 1987