Harriett Quimby, aka American Barbara Ganson, with American women pilots to be, Elizabeth Williamson (left) and Esther French (right)

Pilots from 7 countries piloted ultra lights, homebuilts, single and multi-engine airplanes, as well as helicopters to introduce a total of 1,104 girls and women to the joys of flying during the second annual Women Of Aviation Worldwide Week held from March 5 to 11, 2012 – a 40% increase of flights over the preceding year.

In 1912, Harriet Quimby became the first woman pilot to fly across the English Channel and Hélène Dutrieu became the first woman to pilot a seaplane. To celebrate the centennial of these ground breaking achievements, a ground breaking aviation event was held on March 10, 2012.

The commemoration event involved simultaneous celebrations at two airports in two countries located in two time zones and pilots from multiple countries introducing girls and women to flying above the English Channel using aircraft of various categories. More than 100 pilots and female passengers took part of celebrations at England’s Headcorn Aerodrome and France’s Le Touquet Airport.

Meanwhile, all across North America, pilots joined in the celebration by taking girls and women from their community for their first flight in a small aircraft. 1,063 flight introductions were documented on March 10, 2012 alone.

Up and away in Yellowknife, NT, Canada

In Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada, 27 local businesses as well as the Canadian military rallied around helicopter bush pilot, Kirsten Brazier, to provide static displays as well as funds and logistics to allow four of Trinity Helicopters’ pilots – Kirsten Brazier, Megan Tyler, Derrick Robinson, and Robert Ferlisi – to take over 400 local girls and women on their first small aircraft flight and, in doing so, earned the Yellowknife Airport, the coveted “Most Female-Pilot-Friendly Airport Worldwide” title.

The four pilots also took top positions in the “Most Dedicated Woman Pilot Worldwide” and “Most Supportive Male Pilot Worldwide” categories. These categories were a Canadian sweep with Lesley Page of Oshawa, Ontario, earning the second runner up position of the women category while Hubert Wren and Ron Hasman of Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, tie in the second runner up position of the male category.

If there is cake, it is a party, right?

Making a difference in one’s own community is an essential characteristic of Women Of Aviation Worldwide Week activities. In Frederick, Maryland, USA, pilot Victoria Neuville had to put pilots and passengers on a waiting list due to the overwhelming enthusiasm.

Nearly 60 more girls and women flew for the first time than did in 2011. The total, 244 introduction flights, helped Frederick reestablish itself as Most Female-Pilot-Friendly Airport in the United States and earned it the first runner up position worldwide. Frederick was also home to the Most Supportive Flight Instructor Worldwide and first runner up in the category, Ron Herold and Richard Finati, respectively.

All onboard in Peterborough, ON, Canada

In Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, Cathy Montgomery, an ultra light flight instructor, hosted a Fly It Forward event. Pilots from around Southern Ontario introduced 213 girls and women to flying placing Peterborough in the second runner up position of the Most Female-Pilot-Friendly Airport Worldwide category. Peterborough was also home to two women friendly flight instructors, Cathy Montgomery and Leigh Ehrmann.

Overall, no airport had more women friendly flight instructors than Boise, Idaho, USA, did. Three of Ponderosa Aeroclub’s instructors, Jennifer Christiano, Tanis Partee, and Rick Laytham, earned a position on the podium in their respective women friendly flight instructor categories. Meanwhile, Worland, Wyoming, was home to the Most Dedicated Female Flight Instructor Worldwide, Mary Ann Dach.

Lesley

The Spirit of Women Of Aviation Worldwide award that rewards the woman that undertook the most women of aviation activities within the year was awarded to Lesley Page of Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, who not only personally offered many flights to girls and women throughout the year but also gave speeches in her community about Women Of Aviation and mentored several event organizers.

An early extreme weather season whipping lines of thunderstorms across southern Texas prevented Calhoun Air Center from defending its various titles on both days of their 2-day planned event while seasonal weather kept Oregon grounded.

In partnership with Airbus and with the support of our generous sponsors, many prizes were awarded to participants. Four pilots each won a Sennheiser S1 Digital headset. One pilot won a one year subscription to Baron’s Quicklink Wings Elite Plan, while another won Barry Schiff’s entire collection of books. Other prizes included Aircraft Spruce gift cards, OSRM courses, Powder Puff t-shirts, and Windtee books. The winners of the FFPLUM flight coupons will soon take their first flight lesson in ultra lights while the winners of the writing and art contests will select a flight school and type of aircraft for their first lesson.

“I so enjoyed the experience….I can’t wait to fly again,” said Karen, Frederick, Maryland, USA. In fact, 92% of our feedback survey respondents said that they would consider becoming involved in aviation as a result of the experience.

Congratulations to everyone who participated!

The 2013 Women Of Aviation Worldwide Week will take place from March 4 to March 10, 2013. The 2013 theme will be “Women and Space” as the world will celebrate 50 years of women in space.

View all the participants here.

View all the awards and prizes here.

Amazing speakers at the Headcorn Aerodrome

As I sat on the train from London to Headcorn, I was feeling apprehensive. Who would I meet? How would the event go? Would a lot of women show up? But as soon as I entered the door of the Headcorn and met the first of many female pilots, I knew I was in the right place.

The first night of the event was mostly a mixer where pilots and passengers got to meet each other and swap aviation stories. A popular question was how people got involved in aviation and what lead them to get a pilot license. For most, the answer was simple- a friend or family member took them flying and they were hooked. I also got to go on an hour-long night flight with some of the local pilots, which was fun and informative as we talked about the differences between US and UK flying.

Annette, Elizabeth, & Esther before lifting off at Headcorn

Saturday proved to be both a fun and informative day for women aviators everywhere, but it was not without its difficulties. Getting all the participants across the Channel proved to be a logistical challenge. Many of the pilots there didn’t hold pilot licenses that were issued in the UK or Europe, which meant they had to fly the British or French-registered aircraft with an instructor. Other challenges included weight limits, which meant that many planes that could hold four passengers had to fly with three if the plane was fully fueled and carrying baggage. And the biggest challenge of all was dealing with the fickle English weather. Low fog and clouds hung over the Channel throughout the morning, but fortunately they lifted enough in the afternoon to at least allow pilots to fly. Fortunately, a series of guest speakers kept the crowd engage while waiting on the weather. The speakers included several female pilots from around the world; the first pilot to circle the North Pole; and helicopter pilot Annette Mason, the wife of Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason.

The pilot I was originally going to fly with ended up having to cancel due to weather and didn’t make it out to the event, along with some other pilots from around Europe. The plans of who would fly with who in what planes changed several times, but eventually I got a new ride- in the Mason’s helicopter!

The helicopter is a Eurocopter Squirrel with a cloud and sky paint scheme. The headsets are painted to match the outside and Annette even wore a matching blouse. Some of the other cool features of the helicopter include window cutouts near the pilots’ feet so you can see beneath the helicopter and the ability to carry more passengers and baggage then a small fixed-wing aircraft.

I’ve never been in a helicopter before. The oddest part to me was the takeoff. It was weird but fun to take off going straight up instead of forward. The flight followed the path that nearly all the Channel flights took for the event, which is to head north from Headcorn to Dover, cross the Channel and fly to Nez Gris before heading south along the coast to Le Touquet. The reason most planes took this route is that it minimized the time over the water. Many general aviation pilots like to minimize over water time since land provides a lot more landing options in case of emergency.

Approach over the Canche river at Le Touquet Airport

As the helicopter made its way to Le Touquet, I saw landmarks such as the white cliffs of Dover; ferries running passengers and cargo across the Channel; and small towns dotting the countryside. One thing that did surprise me about the flight was the landing. Even though we were in a chopper, the chopper flew the pattern the way a fixed-wing plane would. It even did a pass over the runway before turning off and following a bicycle marshal to the VIP landing area.

The crowd to welcome the pilots at Le Touquet was large and excited. It echoed the reception Quimby got when she made the trip over 100 years ago. The crowd included spectators, musical groups, media, and VIPs such as the mayor of Le Touquet. A number of local businesses set up shop offering aviation-related products and samples of fine French food.

That evening, many of the pilots and passengers got to mingle at a fine dinner at city hall. It was wonderful seeing people from around the world meet and discuss women and aviation. Before the dinner, several of the pilots and I wandered through the local French market to try more of the local fare. We spent the rest of the afternoon trading yet more aviation stories before dinner. And many folks from Saturday’s events met up the next morning to do a bike ride around Le Touquet. Many friendships formed that weekend that will last long beyond the weekend.

If Harriet Quimby were alive today, I think she would have been proud of the progress that women are making in aviation. While there’s still room for improvement, the future of women in aviation looks bright.

Happy Women Of Aviation Worldwide Week!

“I was annoyed from the start by the attitude of doubt by the spectators that I would never really make the flight. This attitude made me more determined than ever to succeed,” said Harriet Quimby before taking off for France.

Doubts that women are interested in aviation, doubts that women can fly, doubts that women can work together… these doubts are constantly aimed at girls and women and they are impending their success in communities and at airports.

Over the last two years, the Women Of Aviation Worldwide Week have proven that:

• Women ARE interested in aviation with hundreds of them rushing to the airport during Women Of Aviation Week when they are told that they are welcomed.
• Women DO fly as so many women pilots take girls and women up for a flight and lead by example.
• Women from all walks of life CAN work together towards a common goal, as events led by women are set to take place in many countries during the 2012 Women Of Aviation Week.

MARCH 10
On March 10, 2012, individuals and organizers alike are planning a worldwide show of unity. Pilots around the world will introduce girls and women at their local airport to join the many planned events.

We expect flights to take place at 100 airports or more to mark 100 years since the crossing of the first English Channel by airplane and the first flight in a seaplane with women at the controls, Harriet Quimby and Helene Dutrieu, respectively.

Over the English Channel, aircraft with girls and women onboard are expected to stream non-stop for more than one hour to form a virtual bridge between France and England as a salute to Harriet’s flight. In fact, the response was so strong that the airports will be at full capacity and NOTAMS will be issued to reserve the airport to participating aircraft.

At the Frederick Airport, the enthusiasm among the female public was so high that registrations for a flight were closed 3 weeks prior to the event. In Texas, Calhoun Air Center, is taking over two airports, Port Lavaca and Victoria, to defend their titles.
Expecting a high of -15°C (5°F), Yellowknife in Canada’s Northwest Territories, has planned airline and military displays and is aiming to introduce up to 500 girls to the fun of flying. Meanwhile, Petersborough, ON, CANADA, is readying for a 2-day event.
Many more events are planned and each is bound to be a lot of fun for everyone involved.

LIVE ON THE INTERNET
Even if you can’t attend an event, you can still be a part of it. Some of the events will be streaming live video online at www.ustream.tv/user/womenofaviation. You can receive a notification when any of the programs begin by the selecting the channel of interest and then clicking on “Join the Crowd”.

We plan to stream the flight across the English Channel of Esther, our video contest winner, so that everyone can be part of that historical flight.

CONTESTS
Good competitions always include a luck element. The March weather is our wild card.

So be prepared to make all the girls and women present enter the writing or art contests should the weather get in the way. The price is a flight lesson and each participant qualifies for the “First-to-Solo” challenge $500 USD prize. All entries must be submitted on March 14, 2012 at the latest.

REPORT IT OR IT WON’T BE COUNTED
Any flight to introduce a girl or a woman during Women Of Aviation Week is great and makes a difference! However, it won’t officially count unless you report it before March 14, 2012, for individual flights, and March 17, 2012 for an event.

PRIZES & TITLES
Thanks to our many sponsors, we have many amazing prizes up for grab. Who will win? The answer will be published on April 4, 2012, and so will be, the names of the winners of the various titles.

Hours away from the official beginning of Women Of Aviation Worldwide Week, let our aircraft engines roar and create a beautiful one-week symphony.

Happy Women Of Aviation Worldwide Week!

However, unity is its trademark. Not only does Airbus rely on industrial co-operation and partnerships with major companies all over the world,  it also produces a range of aircraft that share the highest possible degree of commonality in airframes, on-board systems, cockpits and handling characteristics.

Video contest winner, Esther, to ride the A380 from Washington, D.C., to Europe

Three words define Airbus: “New standards. Together.“

Airbus is partnering with Women Of Aviation Worldwide to set new standards in outreach efforts designed to foster diversity in the air and space industry.

Kim Beckman, a cousin of Harriet Quimby, recently wrote me the following: ”If we do not foster the daughters of pilots and extend our outstretched arms to the girls of our neighborhood communities, we will never fulfill the dreams of the ladies who pioneered and died for the opportunity to give women an equal share of the sky! I am so impressed with your organization, Women Of Aviation Worldwide, and am so grateful that you are heading up such an outstanding program.”

Together with Airbus and as a salute to Harriet Quimby and all the pioneering Women Of Aviation, on March 10, 2012, we will celebrate our diversity and our unity and set new standards across the English Channel. Pilots from across Europe and North America will fly to two different airports in two different countries and inspire girls and women to discover the endless opportunities that await them in this exciting field.

Airbus, a leading aircraft manufacturer, is once again setting new standards by helping women gain an equal share of the sky.