A video contest promises to send one American woman to the United Kingdom for a general aviation flight across the English Channel in celebration of an aviatrix’s historic flight 100 years earlier.
The organizers of Women of Aviation Worldwide Week events, which celebrate milestones of women in aviation and aim to get more women flying, are holding the “Across the Channel: Women Unifying Nations” video contest to mark the 100th anniversary of Harriet Quimby’s flight across the channel. The winner will be flown from England’s Headcorn Airport to France’s Le Touquet Airport in 2012, in a general aviation aircraft to celebrate Quimby becoming the first woman pilot to make the flight, on April 16, 1912. The winner also will receive an airline ticket to Europe, local transportation, food, and accommodations for the trip.
“Who is this American woman who will be the guest of honor in two countries: England and France?” the Women of Aviation Worldwide Week website reads. “She is old enough to travel to Europe alone, she dreams of flying, she is curious about other cultures, she respects traditions, and most of all, she is highly enthusiastic about life.”
No pilots, please: Women of Aviation Worldwide Week events focus on reaching out to nonpilot women, and the video contest is open to American women who do not hold a pilot certificate of any kind. Contestants must submit a video up to three minutes long with their application package explaining why they want to be there for the re-creation of Quimby’s flight. The winner will use social media to report on the event, scheduled for March 10, 2012. Videos will be accepted between Dec. 19 and Jan. 29. After the top three contestants are announced on Feb. 3, public voting will select the winner.
AOPA is a sponsor of Women of Aviation Worldwide Week and the video contest. Find more information, contest rules, and instructions for submitting entries online.
Two runner-ups will receive a free flight in the United States during Women of Aviation Worldwide Week. The week of women-focused events is held annually during the week including March 8, which marks International Women’s Day and the anniversary of the issuance of the first female pilot license worldwide; it is designed to celebrate women’s history, raise awareness of aviation opportunities among women, and introduce girls and women to aviation through collaboration in the industry.
AOPA ePublishing staff
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