Blue Angels' first female pilot takes flight

[Music] it's a big who when military Aviation Buffs packing to Marine Corps Buford air show in South Carolina this weekend they will be wowed by the Navy's Blue Angels but a new kind of History will also take flight in the team there is a woman in the cockpit hip hip hoay only on CBS This Morning Michelle Miller took to the sky to see how she got her wings Michelle good morning good morning when the Navy originally created the Blue Angels way back in 1946 not only were they all men the pilots they also had to be Bachelors now almost 70 years later the squad's mission of inspiring the Next Generation stays the same but the pilot roster has come a long way there's 200 already lift off it's the ride of a lifetime and Fa Pilots like Captain Jeff cous have spent a lifetime training for it I got my pilot's license when I was 17 and I wanted to get in the military and fly the fastest meanest thing they could give me and and this is it the Hornet is it I'm just a passenger the captain cous is carrying on the legacy of the most famous flying Squad in America the US Navy Blue Angels for eight months each year this team of 10 Pilots tours air shows around the country demonstrating staggering feeds of aerial Precision sometimes as close as 18 in apart close that you're looking at the paint Scheme you're looking at the rivets on the side of the aircraft since the team launched in 1946 an estimated half a billion Spectators have watched a Blue Angel demo these are the sites they're used to seeing this isn't the clouds are better they're not as low US Marine Corps Captain Katie Higgins is the first female pilot in the 69-year history of the team I saw the Blue Angels fly when I was a a young kid I was definitely inspired by that she's a third generation military Aviator my dad was an A7 pilot initially and then he trans uh he transferred to the F18 Hornet which is actually out here on the line it's a great family Legacy to have that's for sure now she's providing the inspiration I think uh by including uh lady on the team that just shows uh little girls and and guys that that women can do whatever they put their mind to have little girls come up to you and said that definitely little girls have told me that they didn't even know that ladies could fly aircraft that that women could be in the cockpit they've been in American Military cockpits for more than 20 years why did it take so long for a woman to get with this team we do a very thorough interview where they get to know each one of us and find the right person for the team next year and so it just so happened that they haven't had a female pilot that is fit quite perfectly it's not that we weren't ready we're just looking for the right person Captain Tom FR is the commander of the Blue Angels one of 17 officers that voted Higgins onto the team what are the challenges of integrating a female pilot into this unit I would say we haven't had any any female can fly any aircraft in our inventory are there institutional challenges I don't believe so but the institution itself was challenged last year when one of the blue Angel's former commanders was found guilty of allowing obvious and repeated instances of sexual harassment and condoning widespread lewd practices what would you say to those people who who find the timing of Captain Higgins um being made a pilot with the Blue Angels uh convenient when we selected the members of that team I was given zero pressure to select a female well honestly I would tell them to watch the demo they can't tell the difference between mine and and the other two pilots on here because I fly it just as well as they do that quickly becomes obvious to anyone sitting in the cockpit of the Angel C130 nicknamed Fat Albert the plane Higgins flies take off checklist s right it may not go as fast as the f18s but it is every bit as integral to the show BC take off and the ride is no less thrilling 13 12 what push over pushover pushover I definitely didn't come on the team to to break any barriers or anything like that that definitely wasn't my agenda every it just so happened that I was the first female to to perform in a demo here and if that is inspiring to people if that's inspiring to little girls around the country then I'm doing my [Music] job she is an inspiration it was cool but you know I was a bit skeptical because she is flying the C130 she's not flying the jet she's not flying The Hornet and I I asked her that I said you know why aren't you flying that plane she said that's my choice this is the bird I love so you know maybe in another few years what was it like for you for me you well you know I flew both planes not flew them but I went 7.2 G's and I have to tell you I had more fun flying in that C130 Ru I know she did I 7gs and it is so awesome what is it all right Michelle

Channel: CBS Mornings

Views: 1,644,506

Keywords: blue angels, female pilot, katie higgins, video, cbs, news

Id: 7FYJFZOXWiM

Length: 5min 52sec (352 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 10 2015