Aviation Day Aims To Inspire Next Generation Of Women Aviators

It’s hard to imagine any child – boy or girl – who wouldn’t be intrigued by the lineup for Girls in Aviation Day at the Marshall University Bill Noe Flight School in Charleston on Saturday. 

“We will be having hands-on activities, STEM activities. We’re going to be making straw rockets. We’re going to be making helicopters. We will have the baby Sims open so they can do flight simulators. We will have drones so they can get some drone education as well,” said Paige Withrow, Yeager International Airport’s chief marketing officer. “And then we’re going to have some fun stuff. We’re going to have face painting and cotton candy and some inflatables, and also our wildlife K9 team here at the airport, Hercules and Ned will be on site.”

But there is a serious point to all the fun: Organizers hope to spark interest in the next generation of pilots, engineers and aviation leaders – but especially in girls. Withrow points to figures that indicate women are under-represented in this historically male dominated field.

“We know in the U.S. that only roughly 10.8% of pilots are female, so we know that we need more female pilots in the industry, but also in airport management – that’s also low. So we’re trying to inspire the next generation of girls to explore the world of aviation,” she said.  

Girls in Aviation Day is free and open to the public. It will take place at the Marshall University Bill Noe School of Flight, located at 600 Eagle Mountain Road in Charleston on Saturday, Sept. 20, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.