By Saloni Mathur
MEET the pilot so glam she faces being chatted up by men who refuse to believe her chosen profession is to fly.
When pilot in training, 22-year-old Niamh Rosenvinge from Newcastle jumped out of a plane when she was just 12, she would not have imagined she would eventually fly into the arms of Love Island Season seven winner Liam Reardon.
Niamh has been doing loop-the-loops in the air since she was 16 and is now working towards her dream of becoming a commercial airline captain, but because of her glamorous looks, would-be suitors accuse her of lying when she says she is a pilot.
“When I am on a night out and a guy is trying to chat me up. He would say, ‘I am in finance, what do you do?’ and when I tell them that I am training to be a pilot, their face clearly says that they think I am lying,” she said.
“People have shot me pick-up lines like ‘Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?’ but I would reply ‘No because I was flying in a plane’.
“Sometimes annoying, but these encounters have been fun, and I especially enjoy watching the look on their faces change when they slowly start to realise, deep in the conversation, that I am in fact, a pilot trainee.
“Their looks change from doubt to awe, and I count that as a win for me.”
Niamh was first exposed to the world of flying by her father, who owned an airfield and parachute centre in Peterlee for 25 years, and she has been working there since age 11. She would sit in the right-hand seat of the pilot and watch in wonder as the skydivers jumped out of the aircraft one by one.
After getting her GCEs and A-levels out of the way, Niamh started her pilot training when she turned 18.
More recently, Niamh’s aeronautical profile even led her to the heights of going on a date with the Welsh winner of Love Island, Liam Reardon, in a 2022 episode of Celebs Go Dating.
“The Celebs Go Dating was a great experience; the entire film crew made me feel very welcomed, and Liam was lovely,” she said.
“When the episode came out, I was really happy with it, but I hate watching myself. It is so cringy.
“My friends would be watching it and laughing, and I would have to leave the room because I can’t take it.”
Having been surrounded by pilots her entire life, Niamh’s passion for touching the skies only grew stronger until she herself sky-dived in Ireland at the age of 12.
For Niamh, her biggest achievement yet is taking her 98-year-old grandpa on a flight over Newcastle and his bungalow in Whitley Bay. The aviation industry is certainly in her blood.
Niamh’s father used to participate in skydiving competitions when he was in his 20s and made different formations in the air. After that, he bought an airfield in Peterlee. He sold that airfield three years ago and is now retired.
Although commercial flying is still considered a male-dominated area, Niamh is delighted to see a huge number of young female trainees join her flying school, Eshott School of Flying.
“My experience has been really positive at the flying school. With so many young girls joining in, I am happy to see that we are all treated equally,” she said.
“Honestly, on the airfield, I have not witnessed any discrimination. It’s only in the outside world that people get taken aback when they learn that I am a pilot or faced any sort of discrimination.
“It was some time ago when I was seeing a guy, and he had given me a gift card, and I was out shopping. I started chatting with this old lady, and I told her that I was training to be a pilot.
“She was shocked and asked me ‘Does he know?’ and I was speechless at her reaction.
“There are still some people out there who think that a woman should be a mother or do a job that would allow her enough time to cater to her family, and that is heartbreaking to witness.”
Joining a flying school full-time proved to be quite expensive for her, as it costs about £100,000 to become a pilot through an integrated route, so she chose a modular one to save on the cost. She is currently studying for her Airline Transport Pilots Licence (ATPL) exams on her own.
So far, Niamh has got 40 hours of flying under her belt by practising in the Eshott Airfield.
“I need to complete 14 written exams, including instrumentation and navigation, and 100 solo flying hours before I can begin the next stage of flight training,” she said.
“I am currently studying with Bristol Groundschool, so I watch webinars from home, and I balance it out with my part-time work to fund it.
“Once I have completed this stage, I will then go on to complete flight training, including instrument rating, multi-engine rating, Upset Prevention and Recovery course and more.
“I am hoping that once I have completed my training, I will have a Frozen ATPL – license you get before completing 1500 flying hours and can apply to be a pilot for my dream airline, and maybe, someday, even fly a private jet.”
ENDS
