St. Andrews Airport in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada is the World’s Most Female Pilot-Friendly Airport after the results from Women of Aviation Worldwide Week in early March were tabulated. More than 150 volunteers, including dozens of pilots, gave introductory flights to 680 girls and women on March 9. Second place went to Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, which did 634 flights and Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario was third at 517. The top U.S. effort was in Frederick, Md., which managed 342 flights. “Engaged individuals at all levels is what has made the Women Of Aviation Worldwide Week initiative the largest female outreach aviation program ever created,” said Mireille Goyer, founder of the initiative and president of the Institute for Women Of Aviation Worldwide.
There were 74 events on four continents and many of them included offering introductory rides. In total, 333 pilots flying 109 different aircraft types flew 5,316 girls and put 1,500 hours on their planes. This year’s theme celebrated the 50th anniversary of the first space flight by a woman, Valentina Tereshkova. Next year marks the 100th anniversary of the first aerobatic maneuver by a female pilot and will be a tribute to female aerobatic pilots.
