A Woman's Affair

Svetlana Protasova wants to fly MiGs. The Russian Air Force, which has the MiGs, is a conservative, male military institution. It seems to have a little trouble with the idea of a capable, female combat pilot. But, through sheer tenacity and perseverance, Protasova is winning the day.  By Sergei Babichev.

Since her secondary school days, Svetlana Protasova dreamed of just one thing: flying. While she excelled in more traditional studies in music, painting and Russian literature, flying has been her passion. And it has driven her, through great adversity and challenge, to become the world’s only female pilot of the Russian MiG-29 fighter.