
KUCKI LOW
South Africa's first female airline pilot.









Against a backdrop of personal hardship, deep prejudice and
entrenched gender inequality, Kucki Low made aviation
history in 1973 when she became South Africa’s first commercial airline pilot.
During the 1970's, female pilots on any continent were few and far between. Overcoming personal tragedy and limited schooling, "Kucki" von Gerlach attained her private pilot's license in early 1969 at the age of 23, the first woman to do so in Namibia, then called South West Africa. She went on to become the first female commercial airline pilot in South Africa
Her entertaining memoir recounts her challenges, triumphs and joys of being a twentieth-century aviation pioneer. Share her hi-flying adventure as she "goes solo" for the first time, makes a bumpy landing just before a thunderstorm hits, and narrowly avoids disaster when one of her students freezes at the controls. You'll be inspired by her determination, her passion and her indomitable spirit.
From an idylic alpine village in post-war Austria to the parched, forsaken desert of South West Africa and finally arriving in Vancouver. Kucki's life and story covers three continents.
