Biography: CDR Trish Beckman, USN (ret)

As a child inspired by the American space program in the 1960’s, Trish Beckman soaked up all the math and science courses offered by her schools.  She enlisted in the US Navy at age 18 and took advantage of many aviation-related education opportunities for the next 28 years, including learning to operate and maintain flight simulators, completing flight training as a Naval Flight Officer, graduating from US Naval Test Pilot School, and earning a Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering and a Master’s degree in Aeronautical Engineering.

As a Naval Flight Officer she flew in 67 types of military aircraft, with primary qualifications in the EC-130Q, F/A-18D, E-6A, S-3A/B, and F-15E.  She was the first American woman to qualify as a crewmember in the F/A-18 (F/A-18D, 1990, Weapon Systems Officer), having been in the right place at the right time (educated, experienced, and qualified) when the F/A-18 opportunity presented itself.  Trish was the first woman to qualify as a crewmember in the F-15 (F-15E, 1992, Weapons Systems Officer); however, in spite of her qualifications she had to wage a 2-year war with the Secretary of Defense before the F-15 opportunity became reality.

In 1991, she and other military women aviators helped educate the US Senate on career restrictions caused by the 1948 “Aviation Combat Exclusion” laws, leading directly to the repeal of those laws.  Since 1993 when President Clinton changed the policy regarding assignment of women to combat missions, women now fly all military aircraft in almost every military mission.

Commander Trish Beckman, US Navy (retired), flies for Boeing Test and Evaluation, at Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington, as a System Operator for production test flights of the Boeing 737, and as a Flight Navigator for ferry flights and engineering test flights (Boeing 737, 757, 767, and 777).  She has now logged over 5000 flight hours in 71 aircraft types.

Trish is currently the only woman in the US to be FAA certificated as a Flight Navigator.  In 2009, the United Kingdom’s Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators awarded Trish a Master Air Navigator certificate in London, England.  She is believed to be the first woman to receive the Master Air Navigator certificate.

Trish is a founding board member of Women in Aviation International (WAI) and is a past president of Women Military Aviators, Inc. (WMA). She also mentors and supports women aviators worldwide, through such organizations as Canadian Women in Aviation (CWIA), Aviation and Women in Europe (AWE), the Russian Club of Women Aviators (Aviatrissa), and Women Aviators in Africa (WAFRIC).

If there is anything Trish would like to be noted for, it is her work to inspire and motivate young people to pursue careers in math, science, and aviation.  She is a mentor for the Aviation High School in Seattle, a workshop presenter for Sally Ride Science Festivals around the country, and a mentor for several aerospace museums nationwide which encourage young people to navigate a path to success in the world of aviation.