She was born on September 07, 1932, in the neighborhood known as Grajaú, in Rio de Janeiro. Her parents Edmundo Pereira Balthazar and Martinha Pinel Balthazar had four children. She liked excursions and mountain climbing since her youth, but she changed to another passion: flying.
As a graduate in Pharmacy at Rio de Janeiro Federal University, she worked in the Servidores Hospital. In 1967, she visited Nova Iguaçú Air club, with her husband Sieghardt, now deceased, and decided to take the pilot training course. Initially, her intention was to fly only as a hobby. However, the passion grew up and her mind had so many ideas, like for example, work in a professional job and joining two interests: get money and use it for a career in the aviation area.
In only 3 months, she was approved as physically apt to fly, passing the practical and theoretical tests. She received then the private pilot license. She continued doing her training in the Air Club until completing the 200 hours required to take tests again in order to become a commercial pilot. The new step was achieved, totalling 250 hours of flight, being 40 of navigation (trips), to become a basic pilot instructor. She took theoretical and practical tests in two different airplanes. The flight maneuvers were in a Paulistinha P-56 and Fairchild PT-19, with some aerobatics. There was a contract promise with the Livre de Aviação School, but it did not happen because that school closed its activities.
Now she was qualified to work as a commercial pilot and flight instructor, and she started to look for a job. She did not imagine her search for achievements would be suffered to reach her objectives. It began a big battle caused by preconceptions and suffered personal persecutions. The aviation market was always competitive between men. A pilot woman would be a threat, besides the taboo, it would have a risk of new competitors in the future: the airwoman.
In 1973, there were theoretical and physical tests for helicopter pilot, being the first woman to be approved at the private and commercial categories. As she could not pay the flight hours required for the practical examination, because they were so expensive, she lost this option to look for a job. She had received the promise from a company to finance the flying hours and she would pay through flights later, but they did not honored the agreement.
She flew as a free lancer in many companies, such as Pluma Táxi Aéreo, located in Rio de Janeiro and others in São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Brasilia. In July 8th 1970, the Construtora Brasil (located in Belo Horizonte) had a Twin engine Bonanza, and she did her first commercial flight with Captain Dornelles. She was basic pilot instructor in Nova Iguaçú Air Club in 1973 before being contracted by Lider Táxi Aéreo, pending the approval, at that time, of NUISO. This important company had airplane and helicopters. She worked there for two years, getting a good experience due to the frequency of flights.
In 1975, she started work with Top Táxi Aéreo completing the requirements to get an ATP (Airline Transport Pilot) license. She did the tests at CEMAL (Medical Certificate) in 1973, the theoretical in the following year and the practical in 1976. She did not receive the right license card, but the senior commercial pilot, of inferior category, because the legislation changed during her training, with retroactivity, this fact hurt too much her career. Everything became difficult when she left TOP Táxi Aéreo, which changed for RIOSUL Transportes Aéreos Regionais, some months before her leaving. She flew as Captain at the Companhia da Usina do Outeiro (Sugar Mill Company) from Campos.
She took a ground course in Embraer, in São José dos Campos and became the first Bandeirante's Captain. The difficulties of this company were so big, because there were sympathizers and opponent people within the proper directory.
She married again in 1981, when she started the lawyer course, with the objective to know better the laws in order to get her license of airline (ATP) pilot.
Until 1994, she was updated with technical habilitation, at times she rented planes to revalidate it, but it became financially impractical.
In January 2000, she received the Airline Pilot License for
which fought to 24 years. Such license is the first to be
granted to a woman in Latin America.
***
She flew in 16 different single-engine and 18 twin-engine airplanes, and a helix-turbo "Bandeirante" (EMB-110). She ferried from São Paulo to Rio de Janeiro, and vice versa, many DAC's (Department of Civil Aviation) airplanes. One of them, the Ypiranga PP-TJR, made her final trip, because the destination was the Aero Space Museum, situated in Campo dos Afonsos (Rio de Janeiro), where she is exposed.
She flew also a 13-ton jet - the Sabreliner prefix N75-A assisted by captain James Bruce, test pilot for Rockwell International, Saint Louis, Missouri (U.S.A) in May 1976. The flight she commanded was between Rio de Janeiro-São José dos Campos and it had as passengers, the whole Top Táxi Aéreo directory.
She continues attending the aeronautic parties opened to the public, as Fairs, Expositions and maintains permanent contact with the aviation colleagues at the airports.
She wrote books telling her professional experiences and, also the biography of her French great-great-grandfather, Doctor Philippe Pinel, considered the "Modern Psychiatry Father". She exposed her literary works at BIENAL, in May 2001 and in 2003, in Riocentro (Rio de Janeiro).
***
|
Licenses
|
Nr.
|
Year
|
|
Private Pilot
|
12.923
|
1968
|
|
Commercial Pilot
|
3.046
|
1970
|
|
Basic
Pilot Instructor
|
11
|
1973
|
|
Senior Commercial Pilot
|
89
|
1976
|
|
Airline Transport Pilot
|
2086
|
1976
|