Take Flight: Incredible True Stories of Australian Women Who Reach for the Sky

From balancing on a wingtip to circling with eagles, Take Flight tells the stories of Australian women who have leapt, tumbled and dived, and reached for the stars.

Helicopter pilot Alida Soemawinata ascends over Kata Tjuṯa. Paramotor pilot Sacha Dench follows migrating swans from the Arctic tundra to the English countryside. Birdwoman Stef Walter wing walks. Hot air balloonist Donna Tasker glides over Bristol, Myanmar and much of Australia. Gomeroi astrophysicist Krystal De Napoli studies the Seven Sisters in the dark night sky. Aerobatic pilot Emma McDonald debuts her solo routine at an airshow high above the glittering Gold Coast.

In Take Flight, author and pilot Kathy Mexted celebrates the determination, skill and expertise of ten women who have beaten the odds to find success and joy in our skies.

’Beautifully written, these captivating stories about women in flight will make you wish you had even half their bravery and passion.’ - Lisa Millar, TV presenter

’Who doesn’t need a little inspo in their lives? When women who choose to fly have their remarkable stories collated, prepare to have your own heart and mind soar!’ - Catriona Rowntree, TV presenter

’Amazing flyers, amazing women, amazing lives. From flying with swans in the freezing skies over Europe to piloting choppers in the outback to - of all things - BASE jumping in the Himalayas, and many more. Kathy Mexted writes brilliantly, vividly, sometimes even breathlessly, bringing us this remarkable collection of stories of women who have chased down their lighter-than-air dreams. The word ’inspiring’ doesn’t even come close.’ - Michael Veitch, author

’Kathy Mexted captures beautiful insights into these normal yet audacious and courageous women and their breathtaking aviation adventures. I’m inspired.’ - Linda Beilharz, Polar explorer and pilot

’The writing and the stories are so good that the book itself deserves to take flight off the shelves.’ - Michael Dillon, filmmaker

’Wonderful and diverse! Kathy Mexted’s passion, inquiry and talent has created a book that inspires flight, energy and the desire to turn the page.’ - Amanda-Lyn Pearson, pilot, circus aerialist, creator and director of The Crackup Sisters

’From free falling to paramotor and adrenaline-pumping aerobatics - a masterful recount of those who take flight.’ - Ryan Campbell, pilot

Kathy Mexted is a writer, photographer and editor. Inspired by her father, she learnt to fly in 1991, before she became a writer. Now she writes more than she flies, though her eyes and mind are usually turned skywards. She grew up in Finley, New South Wales, and currently lives with her family on 40 hectares in central Victoria. She is the author of Australian Women Pilots.