Bedriye Tahir Gökmen was an aviator from Turkey. She was the first Turkish woman to earn a pilot license.[1]
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Life
editTahir trained at the Vecihi Hürkuş Private Flying School and earned her license in 1933.[1] However, her employer did not approve of her flying, and reduced her salary as a punishment. Nevertheless, she graduated from the flight school in 1934, and applied to the Undersecretary of the Air Force to get her license confirmed. The office sent a team of inspectors to the school, however, unfortunately due to an accident, the school did not have any aircraft available for Tahir to use to demonstrate her skills.[2] The team did not return, and the school closed later the same year.[3]
A Turkish parachutist, Abdurrahman Türkkuşu, gave her the nickname Gökmen Bacı ("Sister of the Blue Skies").[2] In 1934, when the Turkish Surname Law was introduced, she took the surname Gökmen.[3]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Bedriye Tahir Gökmen - Turkey - Women Of Aviation's History". Women Of Aviation's History. 2015-07-24. Retrieved 2016-12-26.
- ^ a b Aksu, İbrahim (2006). The Story of Turkish Surnames: An Onomastic Study of Turkish Family Names, Their Origins, and Related Matters, Volume 1. Olay Gazete Press. p. 29.
- ^ a b "Bedriye Tahir Gökmen". www.tayyareci.com. Retrieved 2016-12-26.