Sky-High and Sassy: Beatrix de Rijk’s Flight into Fabulousness

One woman, one pilot’s license, and enough sass to out-fly the competition!

Beatrix de Rijk was never one to settle for the ordinary—especially when the ordinary involved being earthbound. Born in the tropical chaos of Surabaya to a Dutch dad and a Javanese mom, she was a fusion of cultures and, quite literally, high-flying ambition.

But before Beatrix took to the skies, she found herself bored with one of the 20th century's greatest innovations: the automobile. Naturally, she did what any speed-hungry pioneer would do—ditched the slowpoke car for a motorbike. Because if you’re going to break stereotypes, you might as well do it with some serious horsepower.

“If you can’t handle the speed, stay out of the garage.” — Beatrix, probably.

Caption: When "vroom-vroom" just isn't fast enough... time to go "zoom-zoom!"

“The Sky’s the Limit (Literally)”

In typical Beatrix fashion, swapping a car for a motorbike wasn’t enough. She needed altitude. Enter the Hanriot brothers, two charming Frenchmen who decided to teach this firecracker how to fly. They charged her a cool 2,000 francs, which, in today’s money, is like paying a small fortune to strap yourself to some planks, wires, and an engine that could barely power a…