“I think I have always wanted to be a pilot but I was born in the wrong body and those around me didn’t recognise my desire.”

So says Lisa Norman, who must have done a lot of things right as she is now Qantas’ 787 chief pilot and in command of the first non-stop to London flight leaving at 6.50pm this evening.

Despite more than a passing interest, Capt. Norman never thought about flying as a career but a visit to Sydney Airport where she took in sounds and smells sparked something inside.

“I loved the smell of the kerosene and I felt like an aviation nerd,” Capt. Norman said.

“I came back to Melbourne and said to a friend I really like this flying thing. She said, ‘Why don’t you do it as a career’.”

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For Capt. Norman it was a light-bulb moment. But there were doubters who thought she was too old to get into Qantas.

“I had never been told no before but I decided I want to have a go and I never wanted to be 65 and wonder what if.”

Now a 29-year veteran with Qantas she has done it all, including being check and training captain on Boeing 767s, captain on Boeing 747s and A330s and now manager Boeing 787-9 Introduction Flight Operations.

The mother of two says her eldest son, now seven, is starting to think it’s cool to be a pilot.

“The other day I was putting my uniform on and he asked about the stripes and I explained what they meant and that four was a captain.

“He said: ‘Are you a captain?’”

Camera Icon Captain Lisa Norman and First Officer David Summergreene prepare to make aviation history. Credit: Tim Pascoe

Capt. Norman says the non-stop flight to London is a once in lifetime chance.

“From a project lead point of view this is what we have been working towards for the past three years and it’s very exciting,” she said.

She never believed a non-stop would become a reality.

“When I joined Qantas not in my wildest imagination would I have thought this possible.”

Capt. Norman is not big on gender issues.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re black, white, gay or straight — if you have a passion you can do anything,” she said.

For the flight to London she says there will be two captains, one first officer and one second officer.

Capt. Norman said after take-off, the four pilots may spend the first two hours in the cockpit before two retire for a sleep and a rotation then continues throughout the flight.

On touchdown at Heathrow about 5.10am local time, Capt. Norman says she will be “absolutely exhilarated”.

“It’s like when a painter puts the final brush stroke on the work.”