HH Sheikha Al Maktoum Takes Leonardo’s AW609 Tilt-Rotor Aloft

Yesterday, Her Highness Sheikha Mozah Bint Marwan Al Maktoum, a member of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) ruling family, took the controls of Leonardo’s AW609 tilt-rotor aircraft for a familiarization flight in Philadelphia, USA.

This marks the first flight of the AW609 piloted by a female, and additional emphasis was placed on the fact that she hails from the UAE. Ms. Al Maktoum began her aviation adventures at the age of 17 when she enrolled at Oxford Aviation Academy in Mesa Arizona, USA.  She completed her training, and eventually moved onto a earn a Boeing 777 type rating, following which she joined Emirates Airlines in 2015, and is now a captain for that airline.

She is also a rotor-wing pilot, has a significant amount of experience in the Augusta Westland AW139, and has stated that it felt like home transitioning between the AW139 and the AW609, and her time in the simulator at Leonardo prepared her for the actual flight experience where she was accompanied by another pilot for the duration of the flight test. The publicity couldn’t hurt as Mr. William Hunt, Managing Director or Leonardo Helicopters in the U.S. chimed in by stating that “demonstrating the AW609’s combined fixed and rotary-winded piloting capabilities was a true milestone for the team in Philadelphia.”

Ms. Al Maktoum acknowledges how fortunate she is to have the support of her family, and seeks to paint the UAE as accepting of women and encourages others to pursue their dreams. Ms. Al Maktoum’s lineage has afforded her the opportunity to pursue helicopter ratings, which led her to serve with the Dubai Police Air Wing (DAW) a few years later in 2019, and was the first female to do so.

As of last year, there were two more females (Dana Al Mazmi and Mahra Bin Hammad) who had joined later in 2019 when DAW made an open call for pilots.

FMI: https://leonardo.com, https://www.mozahalmaktoum.com