In the early days of flight it was difficult for a lady to become a pilot and break into the male dominated realms of aviation. The ladies were often ignored and had to overcome obstacles of prejudice that did not apply to men. Some of these intrepid, brave and very determined ladies became household names for their daring exploits, others, equally brave and determined, were less well known.

Born Sophie Catherine Theresa Mary Peirce-Evans in Knockaderry, County Limerick, Ireland in 1897 was one of the latter. Life for Sophie started badly when, before her second birthday, her mother was murdered by her father. Her father was found guilty but insane. Sophie went to live at her grandfather’s house in Newcastle West. She was brought up by two spinster aunts. Sophie had a passion for sports but had to battle against the discouragement of her aunts. Her determination to succeed stood her in good stead at this time and later in her life.

Sophie spent her school days in Dublin and, later joined The Royal College of Science in Ireland. She completed her studies with a first class degree in science. She continued with her sports, mainly hockey, and also wrote articles for the student magazine.

During the first world war she spent two years as a dispatch rider and, while in France, Sir John Lavery painted her portrait. By this time she had married and become Mrs Elliot-Lynn only to be widowed a few years later. She became Lady Heath after her second marriage which was to Sir James Heath in 1928.

Sophie moved to England in 1922 and became one of the founders of the Women’s Amateur Athletic Association. She became the first women’s Javelin champion and also set a disputed world high jump record. In 1925 she wrote the book ‘Athletics for Women and Girls’. In the same year she became a delegate to the International Olympic Council and took her first flying lesson to become a pilot.

Sophie qualified for her ‘A’ licence but was prevented from obtaining a Commercial Pilot’s Licence by the International Commission for Air Navigation which had banned women from becoming Commercial Pilots. Sophie had already shown her fighting spirit by being the first woman to make a parachute jump. She fought the ban winning a concession that if she attended a flight school and passed the test she could have the Commercial Licence. This she did and became the first woman to have a Commercial Licence in Great Britain. The ban was rescinded.

After setting altitude records for a small plane and in a Shorts seaplane Lady Heath, as she was now known, planned the flight which made her famous. Cape Town to London. The flight was scheduled to take three weeks but took over three months lasting from January 1928 to May. She became the first pilot to fly an open cockpit plane on that route. Her fame spread and she did many tours in UK and USA meeting the President and his wife. In America she was known as ‘Queen of the Skies’ and ‘Britains Lady Lindy’.

One of the most important tasks that the helicopters undertake is fire fighting- not fire fighting in residential area, but in huge areas like in the case of forest fires and terrorist attacks. The destruction is on a large scale and efficient and quick management of crisis is required. A lot depends on the competency of the pilot as well, because gadgets are of no use in ignorant hands.

Techniques: One of the simplest and the most effective methods that the chopper uses is the water bucket. It is actually a portable bucket-like structure, hung externally below the helicopter using cargo hooks. The mechanism is not very complicated, and once emptied, it can be refilled very quickly from nearby lakes and ponds, making it very efficient and quick in times of crisis.

Another such tool is the Bambi Bucket, which is a slightly advanced version of the water bucket and can be carried in distant regions as well, making fire fighting possible even in those remote regions where there are hardly any facilities for such severe possibilities.

Fire Extinguishers: Apart from water, the helicopter also uses chemicals and water enhancers like foams, gels and specially formulated fire retardants. The helicopter is also used for Foam System Operations. The manufacturers produce foam of different chemical densities to suit the requirements of different aircraft.

The foam is added to the water buckets in concentration levels of 0.5% to 1.0%, though they may differ according to circumstances. Foam tanks are almost similar in use to water tanks but they require power pumps to operate.

Advantages: The helicopter is also an excellent way to survey the entire area and keep a contact with the ground personnel regarding the current situation. The standard method of controlling fire is to start at the “heel” or the starting point of the fire and to continue along the “flanks” or the side, towards the area where it is headed. This gives the added advantage of checking whether the fire has changed course and affected other area or not. Moreover, a fire spreads more rapidly if it is moving uphill, because of the wind and other driving factors, and such situations are most efficiently controlled from the air.

These techniques that can be performed with helicopters make them a boon during rescue operations.