Breaking down barriers to fly
WHEN Kerina Moodley looks back on her days in the South African Air Force, she does so with fondness. Piloting a Cheetah fighter jet during a training run still ranks among the top five things she has done in life.
Moodley became the first black woman to get her flying wings in the airforce in 1997, and rates her more than seven years in military service as an “amazing time” in her life.
She was also appreciative of the recognition she received from the South African Indian Legion of Military Veterans (SAIL) at yesterday’s event.
“I am happy with what SAIL is doing because a lot of people have made contributions and need to be celebrated,” said Moodley.
In high school she had ambitions of becoming a policewoman, but her parents talked her out of it. That’s when she shifted her focus to become a pilot. When she was in Grade 11 in 1994, she filed an application to join the military. She got a call-up in 1996 and trekked to Pretoria for training the next year.
“To become a pilot was not an obvious career choice for me. Growing up at the tail end of the apartheid years, it was not something you thought about because we were not exposed to such things due to lack of opportunities.”
Moodley felt fortunate that everything worked out for her, in spite of the challenges.
She said the tests were thorough and her physical, emotional and mental strength was scrutinised.
“Once you got through all of that, you went before the panel who threw questions at you. It was intimidating, but I got through and achieved my objective.”
Moodley was 18 when she made her breakthrough and had already completed her first year of BSC studies at the University of Kwazulu-natal.
“In those years, opportunities in the air force were opening up for blacks. The first batch of female pilots was accepted in 1996. I started the next year. The air force was still developing and finding its way in this aspect of having women pilots on board.”
One of the indicators for her was that the smallest boot size they had was “6”, and she required size “4”.
To compensate for the oversized boots, she layered extra socks on her feet. “For training, I had to wear big boots and run in them.” Part of the training at the Central Flying School in Langebaan (Western Cape) was that you ran everywhere, you were not allowed to walk.”
She said being in the air force, at age 18 and away from Durban suddenly, was difficult.
Much of the learning was done in Afrikaans, and being the only female of colour in a large group was taxing. “You stick out like a sore thumb. Everyone knows your name and you also had to endure racism, bigotry and sexism.”
Apart from that, Moodley said it was a “fantastic experience” and some of the people she met became lifelong friends.
She got to fly a wide range of aircraft, including Cessna 185s, Caravans, C130J Hercules, PC12S and a Cheetah jet figher. When she resigned in 2003, she was a few months short of reaching the rank of captain.
She lived in the UK with family thereafter and travelled widely.
The mother of two has since returned to South Africa and is studying towards a degree in criminology.