Royal Aeronautical Society : New member spotlight - Emma Henderson

In our regular column highlighting the life and careers of new RAeS Members and Fellows, we interview EMMA HENDERSON, former captain at easyJet and now the CEO of the Project Wingman Foundation, who received a MBE in the 2021 New Years Honours List.

Emma Henderson, 47

Location: Kinloss, Morayshire, in the north of Scotland, east of Inverness

Job Title: CEO, Project Wingman Foundation Ltd, however, until September 2020 I was a Captain at easyJet, based at Gatwick. I took voluntary redundancy in September because my commute was only possible due to the high number of flights a day to London from Inverness giving me plenty of flexibility to commute up and down. There used to be seven flights a day spread across easyJet and BA, now there are three a week! My decision also saved jobs at my airline, as leaving allowed two x 50% captains to keep their jobs.

What inspired you into aerospace? I was always fascinated by things that flew. I was and still am a keen birdwatcher and became a Young Ornithologist at Boat of Garten Osprey Centre aged nine. School projects were always about flight and Biggles was my friend. In 1983, the space shuttle Enterprise toured the world on the back of a B747 and came to Stansted near where I grew up. We went to see it and that was that. I wanted to be an astronaut! I didn’t go on to do this of course – my path meandered and I studied history at university with a career as a lawyer in mind. In my second year I discovered the University Air Squadron and the rest is pretty much history, although I actually didn’t join the RAF – I married it instead and eight years passed between finishing university and re-starting my flying training.

What is the best thing about your current role? It gives me a focus when I otherwise would have had none. I have been able to make recent decisions because I know I have something else to turn my attention to. That, and the fact that I know that the good work we are doing is so greatly appreciated by those who benefit from it.

What made you join the Royal Aeronautical Society? I have been considering it for years but typically never got around to it. I am keen to encourage more women into all areas of aviation and aerospace when the market picks up again and I would like to see women more evenly represented across the board. The work of the RAeS can help with this. I am also a trustee of the Fresson Trust in Scotland which has been supported by the RAeS before and we can all achieve more if we join together.

What do you hope to get out of your membership? I would like to be involved in projects which promote aviation and the aerospace industry to young people who may not have even considered it and get the message out there that the jobs we do are not required to be gender specific – breaking down stereotypes would be a great place to start!

What three items would you take with you to the space station? My camera – I love taking photos and taking photos from space of the Earth would be awesome! My phone because it has some great music on it and I love listening to music. My Kindle with as many books fitted onto it as are possible – reading a book while listening to music and watching the Earth from space would be a bit of a triumph for me!

What’s your favourite aircraft and why? The A319, because it’s what I ‘grew up on’ when I first worked for easyJet. It’s responsive, a pleasure to fly and I have trusted it for 11 years! I also flew the A320 but the A319 is different – I don’t care what anyone else tells you, they are different to fly!

Who is your biggest inspiration? I am inspired by lots of people. I am not ashamed to say that Margaret Thatcher was a huge inspiration to me growing up – whether or not you agree with her politics, there was something admirable about her grit and determination. Jacinda Ahern – PM of New Zealand is another really strong female leader who I completely admire. Barack Obama for the same reason. I think my biggest inspiration though was always my Grandma. She was widowed in the early 1950s with three small children and she just worked hard to provide for them, never complaining and accepting her lot in life. I loved her dearly and still miss her.

Piece of advice for someone looking to enter your field? Have other skills up your sleeve. Airline pilots always used to think that it would be our medicals that would take our jobs away from us but it turns out that’s no longer the case. Add strings to your bow so that if aviation isn’t somewhere you can hang your hat for a while, you can do something else instead. A year ago, I was an airline Captain who was still being recognised as ‘that captain from the telly’. Now I am unemployed but CEO of a huge charity that has massive traction. Believe in your own ability to change what you do!

Project Wingman

Project Wingman (www.projectwingman.co.uk) is a group of current and former aircrew from all corners of aviation, united by their profession and dedicated to serving NHS staff now and in the future. It provides space to unwind, de-compress and de-stress before, during and after hospital shifts, in support of staff wellbeing. Its crowdfunding page can be found at: www.crowdfunder.co.uk/wingmanwheels