Three other women who are B-2 pilots are assigned to the 393rd Bomb Squadron at Whiteman, making this the highest number of female B-2 pilots that have been assigned to Whiteman AFB at one time.
Polidor is currently Commander of Detachment 5, 29th Training Systems Squadron at Whiteman AFB.
Lauren Kram, who graduated from Initial Qualification Training in October. Jennifer “Wonder” Avery, who was the 278th pilot to qualify and the only female to have flown the stealth bomber in combat, to Capt. Only 10 of those pilots have been female, from the first, retired Lt. Throughout the B-2 bomber’s 30-year history, only 498 pilots have qualified to fly the long-range stealth aircraft.
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The fact that she was a female, professional pilot, especially given her generation, was an unspoken, subtle inspiration that I could do anything I wanted.” “I’ll never forget being able to solo a Cessna because of her guidance. “She had a profound influence on me,” Polidor says. She actually started flying lessons at 14, and was soon flying a Cessna, taking instructions from a Finnish woman who was an Alaskan bush pilot by trade. “The fast, elusive military jets really captivated me,” she said in a profile statement released by her unit. She had pictures of small, big, commercial, military, all types of aircraft, she recalls.
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Polidor started taking a serious interest in flying as a teenager, and had hundreds of magazine cutouts taped all over her bedroom walls – not of boy bands or heartthrobs from popular TV shows, but of airplanes! It is very exciting to be part of a team that combines that with combat capabilities at the tip of the spear.” When the B-2 was designed it was on the cutting edge of technology. It was such a unique airplane that represented technology and speed. When she was 12 years old, her and her mother toured Edwards Air Force Base. Polidor recalled that she wanted to fly since she was a little girl. In 2011, she became the sixth woman to pilot the B-2 bomber, the world’s most advanced aircraft. “We will fly the B-2 for a 13-hour mission in order to conduct the two flyovers,” Ecklebe confirmed.Ī California native, Polidor, who goes by the call sign “Rogue,” became an aviator in 2004 a few months after graduating from the U.S.
Image copyright by Mark Holtzman - West Coast Aerial PhotographyĬhelsea Ecklebe, Chief of Command Information said, the B-2 takes off from Whiteman and flies over Pasadena twice today, once for the parade at 8:03 a.m. Later today, Polidor and her crew will fly the B-2 over the Rose Bowl Game, this year between Oregon and Wisconsin. The 509th Bomb Wing, based at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, announced Polidor will be piloting the B-2 with Maj. “Opening Spectacular” performance featuring Latin Grammy winner Ally Brooke of Fifth Harmony, and Puerto Rican singer-songwriter Farruko, along with 19-time Grammy winner Emilio Estefan and the Chino Hills High School drumline, will be followed by the flyover. The B-2 flyover has become a 15-year annual highlight as the Rose Parade steps off.
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