‘They get the full experience’: Girls Can Fly inspires next generation of women pilots

Hundreds of aspiring female pilots took to the sky as the annual Girls Can Fly educational event returned to the Waterloo Wellington Flight Centre on Saturday.

More than 300 girls registered for in-person flights in a Cessna 172 airplane or a helicopter.

“They get about 20 minutes in the plane, fly basically around the airport and Kitchener, and the people talk about whatever the girls want to talk about,” Waterloo Wellington Flight Centre general manager Bob Connors told CTV News. “They have their headsets on, so they get the full experience of being a passenger in a little airplane.”

The event is aimed at giving young girls a first-hand look at working in the aviation industry, which is mainly occupied by men.

Connors said women account for only five to seven per cent of pilots worldwide.

“This event gives young girls the opportunity to have that experience and see if this is a career for them,” Jazz Aviation chief pilot Julie Beverstein said. “It’s not an experience that I had, so I think this is a way to attract more women to the industry.”

Along with the in-person flights, the event included flight simulators, commercial plane tours, and information booths to learn more about the industry.

“I love planes, I have a passion for it. I’ll go and watch planes take off. To go up on one, I feel like that’s a good opportunity to start getting into it,” 14-year-old Celina Butterfield said.

Sisters Kiera and Reese Mitro said they’ve always wanted to be pilots, but getting a first-hand experience in a plane makes them want to pursue a flying career even more.

“All I know is I want to be a pilot now. Even more than I did before,” said 14-year-old Kiera.

Porter Airlines assistant chief pilot Clair Lemiski said events like She Can Fly weren’t around when she was a little girl, but airlines like Porter have started new initiatives to offer women more opportunities in the field.

“I was the only girl in my flight school class, but that’s really been changing over the past number of years,” Lemiski said. “At Porter, we have 12 per cent of our pilots are women, and we’re still trying to grow those numbers.”

Connors said it’s important to continue the event year after year, because if offers young girls a chance to get “up close and personal” with flight training and explore a range of career opportunities in the industry.