Life Takes Wings

Captain Lynn Rippelmeyer of Houston, Texas was the first woman to pilot the revolutionary Boeing 747 aircraft and holds a number of other firsts in aviation history, including being a member of the first all-female crew and the first person to captain a 747 Trans-Atlantic flight. Inspired by correspondence with Jonathan Livingston Seagull author Richard Bach, she pursued her dream to be a pilot while working for TWA as a flight attendant, leading her to another first ?the first flight attendant to become a commercial airline pilot. Her uniform is part of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, and Alex Trebek knew her as a Jeopardy! answer. She has been honored by British royalty as a 'Woman of the Year' and featured in numerous television shows and specials including the BBC's Reach for the Skies: The Adventures of Flight and PBS's We'll Meet Again. Lynn's experiences as a Boeing747 pilot and captain have also been published in Women Who Fly from the International Society of Women Airline Pilots.