Girls Fly for Free!

The Langley Airport hosted a unique opportunity on the weekend of International Women’s Day. Any female, young or old, had a chance to fly in a plane or helicopter as well as interact with the many displays available, all to encourage women to consider careers in aviation. In an industry where pilots, mechanics, engineers and other related careers are dominated by well over 90% males, the project was founded by Kirsten Brazier (last photo below), who just happens to be a pilot along with considerable mechanical experience and more. The Saturday event was so busy that, even with five planes and five helicopters continuously taking off and landing, about 100 were turned away. The heavy rains of Saturday turned to a much drier and warmer day Sunday and hundreds more were treated to a flight over Langley.

The images below show the action on the runway as well as inside the hangars, where static displays and demonstrations showed girls some of the career possibilities.

The event was made possible thanks to the countless volunteers and contributors who put together an unforgettable weekend. As an event photographer, I felt glad to be a small part of such a worthwhile event and proud of Langley.

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