Jean Batten, (1909 -- 1982), was a New Zealand aviatrix whose daring and adventurous flights made her a global heroine and broke barriers of time, distance and gender. Jean competed in a male bastion of dashing bravery and proved to the world that a woman could equal and even exceed their exploits.
Jean's love of flying was matched by her desire to prove herself equal to any man. These driving forces combined to create 'the Garbo of the skies', a glamorous daring adventurer who courted world wide attention to further her ambitions and then shunned it in later life.
We love the fact that Jean was able to literally rise above the confines and expectations of her time, both as a woman and a pilot. She dreamed of doing something that had never been done before; a solo flight from England to Australia in under 20 days. She persevered, keeping her dream in focus, and eventually did fly to Australia, breaking the record by five days. For good measure she established another record by becoming the first woman to make the return flight as well. She then went on to even bigger dreams.
Jean astonished the world with her daring feats, flying solo to make to the first flight across the southern oceans from West Africa to Brazil. She was also the first person to fly across the Tasman. On some of these flights she encountered storms which meant she did not know if she was off course or not for much of her flight. She had to trust to her instruments and keep flying. Approaching New Zealand she was convinced she was off course until she saw Mt Taranaki appear ahead of her. Similarly, on her flight to Brazil it was only when she was able to see activity in the shipping lanes that she realized she was still on course.
At the height of her fame people wondered, 'what will she do next?' In this way the dreamer of big dreams expanded the lives of those around her too, encouraging them to think bigger, to dream a little and to consider the 'impossible'.
Like all our heroes, Jean Batten was not deterred by setback or failure. It was her 1934 solo flight from England to Australia which first focused the world's attention on this young New Zealander. It took 14 days 22 hours; five days faster than the previous record held by English aviatrix Amy Johnson. It was also Batten's third attempt; her earlier attempts were thwarted by engine failure and, believe it or not, running out of fuel.
Ian Mackersey, Batten's biographer said of her that she had 'an almost messianic faith in herself, and an unshakeable conviction that she had a significant role to play in putting New Zealand womankind on the map'. With this sense of mission we can understand why she succeeded.
In 1936 she made another flight between New Zealand and England; she now held the world record for fastest solo flight in both directions. In 1938 she became the first woman to receive the medal of the Federation Aeronautique Internationale, aviation's highest honour. She realized that she had achieved her ambitions and decided to end her long distance flying career. After assisting the British war effort with lecture tours, Batten retired from public life and lived in Jamaica and then Spain where she died in 1982.
Loading...
Grace Air Amazon!
Bruno47602 7 months ago
Cant help of Hughes banged her, or perhaps there was too much competition between the two.
ThunderAppeal 2 years ago
are there any other helpful videos about her?
nzcc2009 2 years ago
If you are interested in knowing Jean Batten better than just her public figure it is a must to read "Jean Batten - Garbo of the Skies" By Ian Mackeresy. I really does open your eyes to the truly flawed character that JB was.
Not taking anything away from her achievements but the way she used and abused people to get what she wanted was phenomenal!
katze87 2 years ago
they don't make kiwi women like her anymore
starswitch 3 years ago
Hi, Just put a little tribute to Judith Chisholm on YT
tvfilmglamdirector 3 years ago
Judith Chisholm (UK) made the same flight solo 1980 went on around the world in G-BAGE Cessna and back to Heathrow, broke 28 world speed records, she spoke to Jean on HF during her flight. Judith died 1988 aged 41.
tvfilmglamdirector 4 years ago
It's quite sad how young girls these days, their role models are all these disgusting pop stars and the media. Jean Batten is a real inspiration.
asdfjamskies 4 years ago
Great stuff from the golden era of aviation.
neacht 4 years ago
Keep 'em coming, Bomberguy!
denberg2 4 years ago