The US Air Force can write, among its pages of history, the name of the first female test pilot of the F-35 Lightening, Major Rachael Winiecki of the 461st Flight Test Squadron, at Edwards Air Force Base in California .
Winiecki, with a touch of pride, commented on the milestone by saying that female figures already exist on the line, including test directors, test conductors, disciplinary engineers and testers, as well as colleagues at maintenance and support services.
“I am grateful to these women who with their work have built the path of integration and overcoming all the barriers that have made it possible to reach today's important milestone,” said Winiecki. "I look forward to the day when sorties like this can be considered a normal occurrence."
Winiecki hails from the Reserve Officer Training Corps and as a military pilot has previously operated the A-10 (Thunderbolt II) with deployments in Southwest Asia, Eastern Europe and the Pacific Theater. She then graduated from Edwards' US Air Force Pilot School and was previously assigned as an F-16 Fighting Falcon pilot with the 416th Flight Test Squadron.
Lieutenant Colonel Tucker Hamilton, Commander of the 462nd Flight Test Squadron commented, “Major Winiecki was chosen to become an F-35 test pilot based on her exceptional flying skills and her important contribution to the development of the F- 35, as A-10 (Thunderbolt II) pilot ".