A female airline pilot from Largs is flying high as she fulfils her dreams in the male-dominated industry.

Rachel Gilmour graduated with a degree in professional aviation pilot practice from Tayside Aviation, and is now a fully qualified commercial pilot working with Scottish airline Loganair.

The 24-year-old is now taking the helm on flights from Aberdeen to destinations all over the UK and even into Europe.

Growing up in Largs, Rachel was inspired by her dad, who had also dreamed of being a pilot, but poor eyesight ruled him out of pursuing a career in aviation.

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When she was 17, Rachel knew she wanted to find a way to train to be a pilot in Scotland and found her next step when her dad took her to a careers fair at Gatwick.

She explained: “I never really had a plan b beyond being a pilot. I wanted to be a pilot and that was that.

“We went for a tour at Tayside Aviation, and I just loved it. The idea of a school where everything was in one place really appealed to me.”

Since her visit in 2015, Rachel hasn’t looked back, but she admits there have been some challenges as a woman in the male-dominated industry.

She explained: “There were actually five girls who started the course at Tayside Aviation with me and maybe 20 boys.

“This is probably more girls than people would expect which was great, but, inevitably, there’s been the odd comment or surprise from people that I am a commercial pilot.

“Sometimes when I walk through the airport, I’ll see people looking at me because they probably haven’t seen a female pilot before.

“It’s mainly older people. I think the older generation perhaps still don’t think that women should be doing this and probably at my age as well.

“People don’t expect to see a woman in her twenties doing what I do but that makes me more determined to succeed.”

Rachel says despite the challenges, she would encourage any woman interested in a career in aviation to take the leap.

She said: “I’ve worked so hard that I don’t let things like that bother me and I’ve learned to be resilient.

“Being a pilot is a really cool thing to do and I’m all for more girls being in the industry.

“If it’s what you want to do, just push through and go for it because, once you come out the other side and become a pilot, it’s definitely worth it.

“There’s no such thing as a ‘man’s job’. If you work hard, you can do anything you want.”