Inspired by the efforts of similar groups in the United States and Canada, pilots at Lyncrest Airport near Winnipeg, Manitoba, took 210 women and girls on flights on Sept. 10. They believe they now hold the record for the greatest number of females flown at the same airport on the same day.
The youngest rider was 2 years old and the oldest was 86, according to the Springfield Flying Club, which hosted the event with the assistance of the Winnipeg chapters of Women in Aviation and The Ninety-Nines. Many participants had never been in a small aircraft. One woman rode public transportation to the closest stop and then walked eight kilometers to the airport so that she could take a flight.
The pilots sought to eclipse similar events created to celebrate the 2010 Centennial of Licensed Women Pilots. Pilots at Renton Municipal Airport in Washington state took 170 women and girls on introductory flights on Dec. 5, 2010. On March 12 this year, 185 girls and women took flights at Frederick Municipal Airport in Maryland.
Jill W. Tallman
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