Transgender Pilots Just Want To Fly

Acceptance of transgender pilots is improving in the aviation community but advocates say more progress is needed across visibility, communication, and understanding.

Thom Patterson

Thursday, June 30, 2022 at 09:15 AM ET

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Pilot Tamsyn Waterhouse won a legal battle with the FAA over requirements for her third-class medical certificate. [Courtesy: Tamsyn Waterhouse]

Key Takeaways:

Transgender pilot Tamsyn Waterhouse faced significant discrimination and burdensome medical requirements from the FAA, which initially grounded her after she transitioned.
Waterhouse spearheaded a three-year advocacy effort that successfully led to the FAA revising its 2012 medical guidelines, eliminating unnecessary psychological testing for transgender pilots and enabling her to pursue her aviation career.
Despite policy improvements, the article emphasizes that transgender pilots still face isolation and discrimination, particularly in general aviation, underscoring the ongoing need for greater acceptance and inclusive practices in the aviation industry.

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When Tamsyn Waterhouse’s father took her flying in his red and white Cessna 150 as a child growing up in Manitoba, Canada, he set her on a path toward becoming a professional pilot. What she didn’t know at the time was how challenging that journey would be.

By the time she was in graduate school, Waterhouse says she realized that she had to transition to female to be herself. The hurdles began a few years later as she was a pilot closing in on getting her IFR in California.