Steering or controlling an aircraft, ship, or other vehicle through an area, or testing out a new plan or project.
From French 'pilot' (helmsman), which came from Italian 'pilota', possibly from Greek 'pēdon' (steering oar). Extended to aircraft pilots in the early 1900s when airplanes were invented.
Pilots originally steered ships, but when the Wright Brothers flew in 1903, the term jumped to airplanes so quickly that we forgot the ocean connection—language evolves at the speed of innovation!
Aviation and transportation 'pilot' roles historically coded male; women pilots (Amelia Earhart, commercial aviation pioneers) fought for access and credibility.
Use neutrally; acknowledge women's roles in piloting when referencing the profession's history.
Women pilots like Jacqueline Cochran and the WASP program were essential to WWII aviation but long uncredited in mainstream history.
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