On Tuesday Lt. Col. Christine Mau, a 33rd Fighter Wing Operations Group deputy commander, became the first female to pilot to fly the F-35 Lightning II.

The U.S. Air Force announced in a statement Mau had completed 14 virtual training missions in a flight simulator before taking off from Florida's Elgin Air Force Base aboard the Lockheed-made stealth fighter.

"It wasn't until I was taxiing to the runway that it really struck me that I was on my own in the jet," Lt. Col. Mau explained via the statement. She added that she did not have other officers or instructors with her or talking to her as she took off aboard the F-35. She only had a chase plane, which observed her flight. 

Mau has a history of being a “first,” since in 2011 she was part of the first all-female combat sortie over Afghanistan.

"Flying is a great equalizer," said Lt. Col. Mau. "The plane doesn't know or care about your gender as a pilot, nor do the ground troops who need your support. You just have to perform."

The F-35 Lightning II is an all-weather stealth multirole fighter jet, which is considered to be one of the most technologically complex planes ever manufactured.

Over the last four years the Air Force has now trained 88 pilots to fly the new aircraft.

According to The Hill, the initial training flight is designed to allow pilots to experience the physical difference between flying the F-35 and other platforms such as the F-15E Strike Eagle, F-15C Eagle, F-16 Falcon, A-10 Warthog or the F-22 Raptor.

Lt. Col. Mau flew the F-15E Strike Eagle before upgrading to the Lightning. 

“It felt great to get airborne," said Lt. Col. Mau in the statement, adding: “The jet flies like a dream, and seeing the systems interact is impressive.”

However, she commented on having to adapt to the Helmet Mounted Display (HMD), "but it's an easy adjustment."

Lt. Col. Mau's superior, Col. Todd Canterbury, praised the fighter pilot, saying she "brings a valuable level of combat and operational knowledge to our team."

"We're nearly a year out from declaring Initial Operational Capability with the F-35," the squadron commander explained. "We need battle-tested pilots to help us put the F-35A through its paces and ensure we have a trained and ready force of F-35 pilots to feed into our combat air forces."