Kathryn Hedrick, 25, has become the first woman named a flight engineer by the Commemorative Air Force, serving on the crew of Diamond Lil, a B-24 Liberator bomber built in the 1940s that is based at Dallas Executive Airport. She monitors the bomber's engines, checks that pilots engage the correct switches, and diagnoses problems with the aircraft during flight and on the ground.
Hedrick's milestone was reported by Axios, which described the Commemorative Air Force as a nonprofit that displays and flies historic military aircraft to educate the public about warplanes. Hedrick was born 55 years after World War II ended, and she has spent the last few years educating herself and others about the aircraft of that era, according to the outlet. She told the publication the organization's mission is to preserve history by keeping otherwise forgotten airplanes flying.
A Bomber With Deep Dallas Roots
Diamond Lil sits outside the Henry B. Tippie National Aviation Education Center at Dallas Executive Airport, the same 47,000-square-foot facility that opened in November 2021 as the Commemorative Air Force's flagship educational hub, according to the Commemorative Air Force. The nonprofit began moving some staff to the Dallas airport in 2014, with full headquarters operations planned to transfer by the end of 2015, while its flagship Airsho and museum would remain in Midland, Texas. The aircraft was the 25th B-24 completed and was accepted in May 1941, the Commemorative Air Force notes.
Diamond Lil's nose art depicts a woman in a state of undress, and the aircraft's interior still carries signatures from the women who helped build it decades ago, the same report found. It is one of only two airworthy B-24 Liberators remaining anywhere in the world, and it is the only operational B-24 that regularly conducts educational tour flights across North America, according to MiGFlug. In April 2026, the bomber returned to active flight status after a two-and-a-half-year restoration led by a volunteer team of mechanics and engineers at its Dallas base, per the outlet.
A Personal Connection to Wartime History
For Hedrick, the work carries personal weight. She has said her respect for World War II aircraft honors her late grandfather, who fled Poland to escape the Holocaust and built a new life in the United States, Axios reports. Hedrick told the outlet that history is slowly being forgotten as people get further from it, and she described crying a little after her first flight, grateful for the work that made it possible.
Hedrick has roughly eight months left before she finishes aircraft mechanic school, and she has no plans to abandon Diamond Lil once she's done, according to the same report. She called the bomber a good bird.
Women Remain Rare in Aircraft Maintenance
Hedrick's role arrives against a stark industry backdrop. Federal Aviation Administration statistics published by California Aeronautical University show women represented roughly 2.6% of certificated aircraft mechanics nationwide in 2021, making maintenance the least represented aviation occupation for women. That scarcity comes as the global aviation industry faces a steep looming shortfall; Boeing's 2023 workforce outlook, cited by Oxmaint, projected the industry will need more than 650,000 new maintenance technicians by 2042 to cover retirements and fleet growth.
The Commemorative Air Force has been pushing to bring more young women into the field. Earlier this month, Women in Aviation International’s North Texas chapter hosted Girls in Aviation Day on October 3, 2026, at the Henry B. Tippie National Aviation Education Center; the CAF listed the event on its calendar, as Hoodline reported. The nonprofit maintains a fleet of more than 170 historic military aircraft, known as the Ghost Squadron, and counts roughly 13,000 members across dozens of regional chapters nationwide.
Flying Vintage Warbirds
Flying vintage warbirds like Diamond Lil comes with heightened safety stakes.
