Mandy Hickson didn’t just break the sound barrier—she broke through barriers of bias, tradition, and expectation. As the UK’s second female fast-jet pilot on the front line, she not only faced missiles over Iraq, but microaggressions and outdated attitudes closer to home.
When the Sky Isn’t the Limit
In 2002, patrolling over Iraq, Mandy’s Tornado was suddenly locked onto by a missile. With G-forces compressing her body and adrenalin racing, her intensive training kicked in. She evaded the missile, but what stuck with her most wasn’t the close call—it was everything she’d gone through to be in that cockpit.
“All the heartache, the battles to prove myself—it was all building up to this moment.”
She spent 17 years in the RAF, flying 50 combat missions, logging nearly 2,000 flying hours, and navigating a system that often saw her more for her gender than her skill.
Sexism in the Skies
While the RAF gave Mandy the chance to be herself—loud, confident, and capable—it also reminded her regularly that she was different. She recalls being told she was “too Amazonian” and advised to be “more feminine,” even instructed not to drink pints like the men.
“Either I fit in and got accused of trying to be one of the boys, or stood out and got criticised for not being part of the team.”
Despite these pressures, Mandy leaned into her strengths. She relished the teamwork, the flying, and the freedom that came with it. And when missiles flew or leadership was needed, she stepped up with the same confidence she showed from day one.
Life Beyond the Cockpit
Now a motivational speaker and leadership consultant, Mandy shares her story to empower others. Her bestselling memoir, An Officer, Not a Gentleman, captures the highs, the battles, and the humour of a trailblazing military career.
She reflects on the joy of flying, the feeling of bursting through clouds into a limitless sky—and how that feeling fuels her mission to inspire others to break their own boundaries.
