Getting more women and girls into the air!

If you've been following any of my posts or newsletters lately, you would have noticed that I am strongly encouraging people to get involved in Women of Aviation Worldwide Week from Mar 4-10, 2013. This is a concentrated effort to get more girls and women into small aircraft and up for what may be their only flight of their lives. But it may also be the start to increasing the number of women in the aviation field, by encouraging the participants to pursue the dream of flight.

I'm not sure, but I believe that a vast majority of people think this is a good idea, no? It's inspiring for both the volunteers involved and the recipients of all of the attention. It's awesome overall for the future of aviation and aerospace, but still there is not an overwhelming response to the request for events. Don't get me wrong, there ARE events, and they are impressive.

First of all, it is not about having a week long event - only about concentrating the activities during this week to try to build a synergistic energy to promote women in aviation. Secondly, it doesn't have to be a huge airshow/rally/extravaganza. Anything you can do to help promote their mission (which is obviously compatible with the Girls With Wings mission) would be beneficial.

In fact, I was having a conversation with Natalie, one of our GWW Spring 2012 Scholarship winners, who was also a recipient of the Sennheiser Live Your Dream Scholarship more recently, about her upcoming WOAW event in Ohio.

One of the things she stressed was how she was keeping it simple, rallying the support of friends and the facilities on the airport where she did her flight training. Instead of making a big fundraising effort, she has asked the participants for $30 for a ride, but providing many other activities for free.

She says, "Aviation is truly in my heart since I saw that Cessna fly over my head at three. I was hooked! Now, I want to inspire the young future Lady Aviators within my community through this event with Woman of Aviation Week. These girls never would have had this opportunity to tour their local airport, Flight School hangar or be photographed sitting in our rental Cessna C172 G1000. These young ladies ages elementary to high school  will have a chance to fly for the first time. Many it will be their first flight ever, including any commercial flights. It is all too common for woman to not realize the great career opportunities in Aviation that could open so many great doors.   We will show that on March 9th. I have a small budget, yet, many kids excited with their parents for this day to fly! it will be fabulous! Woman of Aviation Week and Girls with Wing are incredible organizations that have opened my eyes that pilots to individuals and companies helping to inspire, motivate and give a chance to pass Aviation to the next generation. Never leaving my dream behind to earn my ticket, meeting so many fabulous Lady Aviators has given me a new positive perspective and I too, want to share my passion of Aviation with others!"  

With just a little effort, you can help this movement grow as well. Please contact Victoria via the website for her event: Women Fly it Forward.

And I've received information about another event from an organization who has decided to hold several events in June:

"Right now the 99’s, Liberty University, and the DOAV are planning three Women Can Fly events.  Women Can Fly is a newly created volunteer organization whose mission is to promote women of all ages to fly. We are pilots and aviation enthusiasts who know the exhilaration of flight, the joy of discovering new horizons, the friendships born of shared visions, with the hope that more women will fulfill their dreams by joining us.

The number of women pilots in the United States has remained at 6 percent of the total pilot population for decades. There are a few major barriers that women face with a lack of female mentors and support systems, lack of confidence in their ability, and lack of experience to just name a few. This event is to try and change these numbers. We can offer female mentors and support, as well as some experience and the confidence they need to jumpstart their own career in aviation.

In June women from all over the state will come to receive their free airplane rides. At the Lynchburg event there will be ground lessons and Simulator Rides in Frascas and CRJ-200 Simulators. We will have Guest speakers from Airlines and Military branches. We will also be promoting women mechanics with our Aviation Maintenance School. All this is to promote women to enter the world of Aviation. 

The dates of these events are set for June 8, 2013 at Warrenton-Fauquier Airport, June 22, 2013 at Hampton Roads Executive Airport, and June 29, 2013 at Lynchburg Regional Airport. Please contact them regarding if you will be able to volunteer as a pilot, ground helper, or donate as sponsorship to the Lynchburg event! Anything would be greatly appreciated!"        

I fully support any event that gets more women and girls involved in aviation. I hope you do too!

The Girls With Wings Pilot Shop is CLOSING!

It was with great sadness that I recently had to announce the closing of the Girls With Wings Pilot Shop, the place to get licensed GWW merchandise and all the aviation themed accessories I could find that would appeal to girls and ladies. My reason for starting the line was simple: I wanted to offer the kind of merchandise I could buy for my nieces that I could get for my nephews. When I became a pilot in 1993, there was virtually nothing available. I had to buy the girls (first one born in 2001), things that were maybe a periwinkle blue - as close as I could get to purple.

Delaney, now 11

I started out by buying a $2500 embroidery machine, with which I stitched out my self styled airplane logo onto tees and onesies for friends and co-workers. So many people responded with enthusiasm to my offerings that I soon realized that a bigger issue was at stake - why weren't these products already available? Why was half of our population excluded from all this cool aviation swag? And did this perhaps have something to do why the pilot population remained 94% male?

So with my small success thus far, and to reduce my losses with screwing up the embroidery so much, I had some tees screen printed (said niece born in 2001 modeling first one to the left). And I started attending shows and conferences to sell my wares. The enthusiasm with which my things were received encouraged me to continue booking these booths, but there are major costs involved. Some of these booths cost several thousand dollars, and once you add in my travel, lodging and shipping, I was never breaking even, much less making a profit to return to Girls With Wings, Inc, the nonprofit organization. Online sales were not setting any world records either, no matter how much I tweeted and facebooked about it. If you've ever owned a business, not even necessarily a store, you know the overhead of which I speak and have to cover.

One of the early booths at Oshkosh

And so, I regret to say that I just have to close the shop. So many people have responded with an aghast "But you can't! There's no other place for us buy these things!!" I know, I know. But I've been personally subsidizing the endeavor and I just can't do so anymore in its present form. So for the time being I am offering clearance prices (mostly 50% off) on all remaining merchandise. When things settle down and I can look at how to reformat the structure, I hope to reopen the Girls With Wings line. Sales have gone through the roof since I marked the prices down to what I paid for the items (or even less than) and its a basic business practice that you can't continue running a business at so great a loss.

But I do want to reiterate: Girls With Wings, Inc., the nonprofit organization, is NOT GOING ANYWHERE. We will continue our outreach activities because the need to do so  is still there. In fact, I want to share with you this amazing email I just received (via the store website, BTW).

Anna getting her personalized copy of Penelope Pilot

Writes Jennifer:

I just wanted to write to you about a recent event that happened on our flight this month. 

My daughter Anna and I discovered this program along with the Penelope Pilot book when we met Linda at Air and Space in Washington, D.C. in 2011.  Linda spent the time to talk to Anna and autograph her copy.  The book has become one our favorites. 

At the age of 6, my daughter has become quite the frequent flier.  She carries the book with her on many flights.  Several pilots have invited her to come take a look in the cockpit as we board the plane.  Unfortunately, we have lost our paper doll Penelope, but we still take the picture.

This leads me to our most recent flight back from Europe.  Late in the flight, I  thought I heard the female voice on the intercom say she was the pilot.  I stopped one of the flight attendants to ask if indeed we had a female pilot.  You should have seen this male flight attendants face.  His face lit up and puffed his chest a little as he proudly told us that his crew was led by the first long-haul female pilot for SAS (my emphasis). In fact, the whole crew seemed quite proud of this fact.  He even told us that he would get the pilot to sign Anna's book and that we might be able to meet Charlotte, our pilot.  Since it was late in the flight we would have to wait for the book to be signed until after we landed. 

As we exited the plane, we saw the book waiting for us by the door.  When we asked if we could meet Charlotte, the flight attendant happily went to get her.  Charlotte had never heard of your program, but was glad to hear it existed.  She also took some time to talk to Anna and take a picture. Hopefully, we'll see Charlotte on another one of our overseas flights.

Yeah, stories like this mean Girls With Wings isn't going anywhere! Thank you all for your patronage of the Girls With Wings Pilot Shop and we hope to see you again there soon.

Sincerely,

Lynda Meeks, President

The Girls With Wings Pilot Shop

Very Important Pilots, LLC

www.shop.VeryImportantPilots.com

Pay it forward when you "Fly it Forward"

Remember Benjamin Franklin? He of the Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise?

Much of what is attributed to him are quick witticisms, which may or may not be a result of his messing with keys, lightning and kites. But he also promoted some deep philosophies and is credited with the first use of the "Pay it forward" idea:

I do not pretend to give such a Sum; I only lend it to you. When you meet with another honest Man in similar Distress, you must pay me by lending this Sum to him; enjoining him to discharge the Debt by a like operation, when he shall be able, and shall meet with another opportunity. I hope it may thus go thro' many hands, before it meets with a Knave that will stop its Progress. This is a trick of mine for doing a deal of good with a little money.

Sure, if you borrow money you should pay it back. And when it's paid back two people are satisfied at the very least. But if someone was to make someone feel better by giving him/her a loan, but then THAT person made someone else feel better by passing on that loan, the happiness factor increased 33%. That's a nice return on investment.

[Math whizzes and statisticians need not comment.]

According to WikiAnswers, "In the modern vernacular the phrase has been adopted to mean, "don't worry about it, just go on and be a good influence with your life, or whatever." But the source of this phrase has a foundation that was popularized as part of the new millennium." Pay it Forward is well known as the title of a movie released in 2000 about a boy given a school assignment that requires him to find some way to change the world.

As a philosophy, Wisegeek says, "Paying it forward is a third-party beneficiary concept that involves doing something good for someone in response to a good deed done on your behalf or a gift you received. However, when you pay it forward, you don't repay the person who did something nice for you. Instead, you do something nice for someone else." And by doing so, at least for that one person, changed his or her world.

But what about Miss Janet (Jackson), she of the "What have you done for me lately?" Jonathon Lockwood Huie pens on his blog:

We have reason to have infinite gratitude to the Universe for everything we have and everything we are, yet we cannot repay the Universe. We have gratitude for our distant ancestors, yet cannot repay them. We have gratitude to our parents for our very life, and to our parents or other caregivers for our nurture, yet we cannot repay them in kind. We may have many other gratitudes that, for one reason or another, cannot be repaid to those who were so generous to us.

I know of an opportunity for you to do "a deal of good." By not paying it forward (though heaven knows nonprofits like GWW need all the coin it can get) but by thanking those who have contributed to all that we aviation enthusiasts enjoy by FLYING it Forward. That's right. There is an event that is its third year called "Fly it Forward," a key contributor in the annual Women of Aviation Worldwide Week, which, since its inception in March 2010, has enabled "more than 5,000 girls and women to discover the joys of flight in small aircraft in 36 countries and on 4 continents."


The initiative has doubled in size each year since 2010.

Doubled. In. Size. In two years! So, this, their third year, could potentially see 10,000 girls and women in 72 countries on 8 continents... ok, so there are only 7 continents, but there are 196 countries (or 195, depending on your reference).

This will not happen unless more volunteers participate in the effort, though. So here is your chance to Fly it Forward. Victoria Zajko, team leader for U.S. events, said her goal is to have at least one event in each of the 50 states. She sent me the following message to send on to you, dear reader, who believes, deep down, that you believe in giving back to the aviation community, nay, the universe, and the importance of focusing attention on the lack of female involvement in the air and space industry.

I wish to personally invite you to partake in the 2013 week. As the US Team Leader I am here to help promote and support you every step of the way.  We've made it much easier on the event organizers this year with the event organizer handbook.  You can request one here.  The event organizer handbook is full of great ideas as well as guidelines to create an inspirational flying event.  I hope that you will consider joining us for WOAW 2013!  Please let me know if you have any questions.  Together, I hope we can introduce many new girls and women to an industry I know we are both very passionate about!
 
It is wonderful to know that there are nonprofits that can work together towards their goals, and WOAW and GWW agree that our missions are synergistic - that by working together we can increase the effectiveness of our organizations. In fact, last year, Girls With Wings had a presence at the Fly it Forward event in Frederick, MD, with GWW Board Member Keith Jones and family running the booth. Victoria is in the white jacket and on the right were both Jane Law Wicker, a Wing Walker, and Sarah Fraher, of Flying Wild Alaska on the Discovery Channel.

So you can either organize an event in your area with the following guidance offered:

The format of events is entirely up to the organizer and not supervised by iWOAW. However, whether or not they include discovery flights, events organized within the spirit of the celebration of Women Of Aviation Worldwide Week must include the following key elements:

• Women-centric attractions and activities designed to not only make girls and women feel welcomed but also uniquely valued and special.
• Female public as a majority.
• Original and media worthy elements.
• Events that include discovery flights must make safety the number one priority.
• Event reports must be received by March 17, 2013, midnight, to qualify the participants to titles and prizes.

Outside of these basic guidelines, let your imagination soar, knowing that prizes are offered in this *friendly* competition: most female friendly airport, most girls/women flown, so on.

Or you can participate in an existing event by A. using your airplane, helicopter, etc.,  to take these girls and women to new heights! and/or B. letting attendees know about Girls With Wings, so we can encourage the young girls to continue their interest in aviation, like Christa and Pamela have done (Christa's son was a bonus!). It's not hard - I'll send you brochures and other helpful materials and you can assist in encouraging these girls to grow up and GROW the percentage of women in aviation. The important thing is that you do SOMETHING, ANYTHING, to Fly it Forward. These things do not happen, are not successful, unless people like you participate.

Interested volunteers can also be sent a limited supply of Girls With Wings Pilot Shop merchandise so that attendees of the event can purchase a momento of their experience and help to raise funds for Girls With Wings.

Now. Please email me if you'd like to help promote Girls With Wings AND get in touch with Victoria to let her know how you will contribute to this worthy cause. March 4-10, 2013. Mark your calendar.

Here's a compilation of last year's event. If you're like me, and these images showing the excitement on everyone's faces don't inspire you to get involved, nothing will.

Meagan's Final "Private Pilot" GWW Scholarship Essay

I give to you the third and final essay from Meagan, the recipient of our 2012 Summer Private Pilot Scholarship. The Girls With Wings Scholarship Program provides funds for flight training to selected individuals with a willingness to be superlative GWW role models. Winners show potential to continue her interaction with the GWW organization, via the website and events, so she can assist GWW in encouraging more young girls to have an interest in aviation. Part of the obligation for being awarded the scholarship is to submit at least one picture and an associated journal entry once a month for three months to the Girls With Wings blog to share with others her training, as well as email a final essay summarizing how the scholarship helped her, what she learned and her intent to continue her work as a role model and volunteer for the Girls With Wings, Inc., organization.

We will announce the details of our 2013 Scholarship program next January. We are ALWAYS in need of donations to continue these scholarships. Please click on our PayPal link to submit your donation (any amount is appreciated!). 

And now, may we present Meagan's Essay:

Hi Lynda and Girls with Wings,

I haven't flown much in October, however, one of my CFI's is getting his CFII, therefore, I've been tagging along with him and the chief flight instructor, in the back of the 172, on their training flights. I've learned so much from being an observer! I've witnessed him fly holding patterns over Oceanside VOR and approaches into KCRQ. The exposure to watching him use the dual VOR's, and the GPS in the airplane, only add to my experience and knowledge. It's nice to sit back and be an observer every once in a while because you can focus on the process, instead of having to fly the airplane at the same time. Plus, the views are priceless :)

October was a slow month in my personal flight training. I spent the month of October looking for another job, so that I can have money to pay for my IFR training. I had an interview with one company, worked on my resume for a few other companies, and finally, my patience and persistence paid off. An opportunity presented itself at one of the businesses I already work for. I obtained a position as outside sales manager and began my first day on the job on October 28th. Now, I'm definitely going to be able to fly in the month of November!

The Girls with Wings scholarship has helped me tremendously! It allowed me to complete my Private Pilot Certificate and pay for my checkride, which allowed me to spend more of my money toward my Instrument Rating. I feel so blessed and relieved to have received the GWW scholarship!

I fully intend to work as a role model and volunteer for Girls with Wings. I have an arrangement with my flight school, Pinnacle Aviation Academy, on November 7th. My best friend, Margaret Malek, is a 5th grade teacher in Oceanside, Ca. Every school year she creates a girls empowerment club and this year there are about 30 girls in her club. We've created a field trip for the girls to visit my flight academy and take a tour of the hangar, flight school, and flight line. I'm going to show them the Cessna 152's, 172's, and allow them to sit in the cockpits. The Pinnacle Aviation Academy staff and I are going to talk to the girls about the instruments and what it's like to fly. Also, the general manager is donating simulator time in the G1000!!! We are going to give each girl a chance to fly the simulator and give them a feel for the yoke and rudder controls. I'm sooo excited about this trip for the girls! We are going to have soo much fun! I don't think these girls have ever been to an airport, been on an airplane, or even know what it's like to fly. I'm very excited to share the world of flying with them. Stay tuned for pictures from our adventure!

 Also, Margaret purchased a copy of Penelope Pilot! She will keep it in her class room to share with all her girls in the years to come. 

Overall, I'm very excited about this coming week and continuing my IFR training throughout the end of the year! I already know 2013 is going to be another great year full of accomplishments and additional ratings :) 

Thank you so much, Girls with Wings, for believing in me and helping me to achieve my dreams! 

Sincerely, 
Meagan Gearin 

Meagan, congratulations on your success receiving your private pilot certification and starting on your instrument training. It's certainly not an easy road to success but you've been doing great! We wish you the very best making your "Dreams Take Flight" and hope to continue to hear from you in the future.

Best,
Lynda Meeks, Founder and Executive Director, Girls With Wings, Inc.,
and the entire volunteer staff. 

Alyssa Mae's Final "Dreams Take Flight" GWW Scholarship Essay

I give to you the third and final essay from Alyssa Mae, the recipient of our 2012 Summer Dreams Take Flight Scholarship. The Girls With Wings Scholarship Program provides funds for flight training to selected individuals with a willingness to be superlative GWW role models. Winners show potential to continue her interaction with the GWW organization, via the website and events, so she can assist GWW in encouraging more young girls to have an interest in aviation. Part of the obligation for being awarded the scholarship is to submit at least one picture and an associated journal entry once a month for three months to the Girls With Wings blog to share with others her training, as well as email a final essay summarizing how the scholarship helped her, what she learned and her intent to continue her work as a role model and volunteer for the Girls With Wings, Inc., organization.

We will announce the details of our 2013 Scholarship program next January. We are ALWAYS in need of donations to continue these scholarships. Please click on our PayPal link to submit your donation (any amount is appreciated!). 

And now, may we present Alyssa Mae's Essay:

Hello!


As this is my final essay, I would just like to say what a huge impact this scholarship has made on my pathway to earning my pilot's license. The support from GWW has inspired me to get moving on the things I have always dreamed of doing. This scholarship has pushed me to obtain my medical, find a flight school, pursue my flight training. Who could ask for anything more? I really hope I am able to continue on from this amazing start.

October started off a bit rocky in terms of aviation, but it has culminated wonderfully! In my last essay, I had left off where I was going to meet a flight instructor at a flight school. It went great! My family, Mr. Soco, and I met with the director who gave me some good advice and then he introduced me to one of their instructors, Tim. We went to look at their fleet of planes, the ground school classroom, and toured around a bit. Everyone there at Premier Flight school is extremely nice and knowledgeable. I felt like they truly cared about their students and made sure they had only the best to offer them! I liked it there so much, that I booked a flying lesson right away!

Premier Flight School had so many planes to choose from! I decided to try out the Flight Design CTLS because (a) it was the cheapest plane to fly and (b) it is very similar to the SkyCatcher that I flew this summer! According to my mother, "It's so adorable!" I agree. It looks tiny from the outside but is actually quite roomy on the inside! The CTLS is a really neat little plane. It’s an LSA. Some features are that it has dual glass cockpit screens, electric flaps, a window on the top, a parachute, and even seat inflation to make your behind comfortable! (However I still need a cushion to see...)

On October 26, I went for my first flying lesson in the CTLS at Brainard Airport, with my instructor Tim. Tim is a fantastic instructor! Before I even set foot into the plane, he really educated me about every aspect of it- from the brake pads to the BRS parachute! He's very patient and it doesn't seem to bother him when I ask my 800 questions either. ;) At my second flying lesson we began by taking the cowling off of the engine to see how it works and what’s inside. I had no idea what anything was at first, but now I bet I can name some of it - from the battery to the liquid cooling system! After that we went flying, and it was my first time flying at night! The lights from the city and the airport were such a spectacular sight. I knew flight training would be fun, but the training I’ve had so far has exceeded my expectations! I’ve had a blast flying in the CTLS! I love all of the massive windows and especially the electric flaps as my right arm is not the strongest.

It's a bit of an adjustment from flying the SkyCatcher but not as far of a stretch as it would have been to train in a Piper (aka the DaVinci code)! For example, in the CTLS, the stall warning is not a horn; it’s a buzzer in your headset. It just sounds like radio static! Another interesting aspect is that when you check the oil, you have to turn the propeller until you “hear the toilet flush”, which is actually the oil going through! The flaps are also huge on the CTLS and it’s a little more sensitive than the SkyCatcher. I really like that CTLS though and I am eager to learn more about it. I think LSA are some of the most fun planes to fly in, and my quote about flying LSA is that I feel like I am one with the air, rather than one with the plane!

In total I have had 3 flying lessons so far (excluding my time in OSH). I had 1 intro flight and 2 lessons. Mainly, it has been getting used to the new plane and a review of maneuvers I haven't done since the summer. I think I've gotten much better at talking on the radio and taxiing which were two of the hardest things for me! So far in the CTLS, we've done steep turns, slow flight, and my favorite - stalls! I'm really looking forward to flying again! At the moment, I've been applying for jobs as well as keeping small side jobs, to continue to pay for my training.

And on another note, I continue to share my passion for flying each day. I’ve connected with other women pilots or girls who want to become pilots. It’s nice to know the population of them seems to be growing! I hope that one day I will be able to inspire other kids as people have inspired me to pursue my dreams in aviation. Instead of me getting a Young Eagles flight, I would love to give them! The most I can do right now to help others is talk with them and give them resources, so that's what I plan to do! I love connecting with people on my Twitter, my Facebook, or even my blog in progress. I am really motivated to help others as I see how much GWW and other people have helped me.

“Hold fast to your dreams, for without them life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly.” -Langston Hughes

This scholarship has been such a tremendous blessing. It has truly pushed me forward to begin flight training and has made me one step closer toward achieving my dreams. It's such a great honor to have been chosen, and I thank GWW and all of the people with big hearts who supported this scholarship. I would also like to thank my parents, Mr. Soco, Chuck and Eileen for always supporting me. It's amazing what people will do to help someone achieve their life long goals, and it is only right that I continue their efforts by helping others. I definitely plan to continue flying as long as I live! Thanks again to everyone who supported me, blue skies!

PS I made a video.
 

Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEl0T-yiw-U

Alyssa Mae, you've come a long way in a short time. We know you're busy and have had some difficult logistical challenges - but you persevered!  We wish you the very best making your "Dreams Take Flight" and hope to continue to hear from you in the future.

Best,
Lynda Meeks, Founder and Executive Director, Girls With Wings, Inc.,
and the entire volunteer staff.