Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Satz 1st Female Marine to Pilot F-35 Jet, She's Only 29


Fri 16 Aug 2019 | 02:53 AM
Yassmine Elsayed

Media reports revealed that Anneliese Satz, a former commercial helicopter pilot, has become the first female Marine to pilot the F-35, a next-generation joint strike fighter aircraft.

The Island Packet reports Capt.  Satz completed her fighter jet training this summer at the Marine Corps Air Station in Beaufort, South Carolina, AP reported.

Satz arrived at Beaufort, South Carolina, with Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501 (VMFAT-501) in July 2018 and took her first flight in the F-35 in October, according to a Marine Corps release.

Satz trained in Mississippi, Florida and Texas over the past four years before arriving in Beaufort last summer to train in the F-35B Lightning II. A station statement says Satz's aircraft is a supersonic stealth vessel designed to operate from short-field bases and near front-line combat zones.

The statement says the 29-year-old Satz credits her history as a commercial helicopter pilot as what prepared her for a career in military aviation. She's now headed to Iwakuni, Japan, to join a unit called the Green Knights.

As reported by Marine Times, the service’s high-tech stealth fighter pilots were only manned with 86 pilots as of February, according to data obtained through a government records request. The field is authorized to have 263 pilots.

“The first flight in an F-35 is by yourself,” Satz said in the command release. “The syllabus thoroughly prepares you for that first time you take off and for every flight after that, it’s an exhilarating experience.”

Satz not new to flying, though: she earned her commercial pilot license flying a Robinson R44 Helicopter before becoming a Marine, according to a release.