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Girls Fly Too

Girls Fly Too!

Out of 24,505 professional pilots in Canada, only 1,356 of them are women. Out of 19,601 aircraft engineers, only 560 of them are women. Less than 3% of the technical positions in the Royal Canadian Air Force, such as pilot or maintenance technician, are held by women. Canada is not alone – the US shares similar statistics and many countries have yet to announce female firsts in aviation, aerospace and space.

It would be easy to conclude that women are unwelcome in these fields. Instead, studies have shown that a common perception persists that aviation and aerospace are reserved for men. Since society observes mostly men employed in these fields, this perception is continually reinforced.

The Sky’s No Limit – Girls Fly Too! free outreach events and other initiatives aim to change this perception by specifically welcoming women to the airport and giving them an interactive, hands‐on introduction to aviation, aerospace and space.

2016 show

Occurring during the week of International Women's Day, the 2016 show took place on the North Ramp of the Abbotsford International Airport, near the Cascade Aerospace hangar. Attending were aircraft from Conair, The RCAF, USAF, US Navy, Canadian Coast Guard, Nav Canada and the Royal Canadian Air Cadets. Also present were the RCN Dive Team and Bomb Disposal Unit, RCMP and Abbotsford Police Tactical and Canine Units.

The blustery weather did not prevent 8 light helicopters from taking up several hundred lucky flyers over the weekend. Nor could the rain wash the smiles from their faces afterward.

It should be mentioned that the helicopters, pilots and fuel were all donated free of charge for the event. In attendance (out of the rain) were NASA Astronaut Wendy Lawrence and CSA Space Engineer Isabelle Tremblay, who gave inspirational presentations throughout the weekend, inspiring another generation of girls to consider a career in aviation.