Miss New Jersey to participate in Girls in Aviation Day

“I’m getting an eye-opening experience at what aviation is all about,” the Loyola University communications major told Lyndse Costabile, an aviation enthusiast and student pilot who was Gialloreto’s escort at the Flying W airport north of Atlantic City.

Costabile said the Miss America contestant from Woolrich Township flew a Piper Twin Comanche with an instructor and exhibited good pilot skills as she flew along the Jersey shoreline past Atlantic City to Cape May. “When she was flying she said, ‘This is so cool,’ so I think there is definitely going to be an interest” in following up, Costabile added. “One of the things I talked to her about is the need for more female role models. We’re hoping more young women can say, ‘If they can do it, we can do it, too.’”

A variety of events from Australia to the United States are scheduled for the fourth annual celebration designed to raise aviation awareness among young women.

In the United States, chapters from Alabama to Wisconsin planned to host young women at airports, aviation museums, schools, and other locations. WAI estimated the worldwide events would reach approximately 15,000 girls ages 8 to 17.

The AOPA/Frederick, Maryland, chapter has scheduled two hands-on time slots with aircraft and simulators at Frederick Municipal Airport following a successful 2017 event that attracted 200 participants and nearly overwhelmed volunteers.

A social media post noted that the Alberta, Canada, Rocky Mountain High chapter planned to “explore the opportunities for work and play in the aviation and aerospace industry.”

Seventeen locations in India—the country with the highest population of professional female pilots—scheduled events for young women. Worldwide, about five percent of pilots are female, while the figure in India is about 13 percent.

For those who can’t make it to an event in person, there’s also an online option. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Worldwide College of Aeronautics’ chapter launched a free online course for youth ages 8 to 12. The three-week Aviation is Your Future learning experience will teach young people about aviation terms, flight characteristics, and careers.