Kentucky woman becomes Air National Guard's first female F-35 pilot

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Air National Guard's first female F-35 pilot is a former boxing instructor from Kentucky.

According to a report by LEX 18, 1st Lt. Kelsey Flannery, 30, has been training for three years to pilot the F35A Lightning II, and on Wednesday, Sept. 7, she took her first flight as a Vermont Air National Guard member.

"I really wanted to be on the leading edge," Flannery said. "It's exciting to get up there, go fast and be able to employ weapons so that was one of the more appealing parts of it."

As the daughter of an Air Force pilot, Flannery said she always knew she wanted to fly for the military. She said she learned about opportunities with the Air National Guard and said being selected by Vermont to fly the F-35 was the "icing on the cake."

She said the topic of becoming the first woman to pilot an F-35 fighter jet never came up during her three years of training.

"There's definitely been a trail blazed already and I'm really grateful to the women who have done that, but nobody has brought it up, and I feel very much like an equal here," she said. "People just treat me like a wingman and it's great as it allows me to focus more on flying."

Flannery will spend the next two years tackling full-time, on-the-job training to keep developing her skills as a fighter pilot.