Women in Aviation
Article content
Ten small aircraft, 11 pilots and more than 50 passengers – girls and women – added up to a successful Women in Aviation Day at the Tillsonburg Regional Airport.
Anne Audebert of Ingersoll was a passenger Saturday afternoon in Bjarni Tryggvason’s Pitts Special.
“I was in that one over there – we did loops and rolls and…” she said, pointing to a small, short-wing, aerobatic biplane. “Yeah… yeah that was insane. I don’t know if I’ll stop shaking today. Never in a million years did I think I was going to have that experience today.”
When she signed up for Tillsonburg’s Women in Aviation ‘free plane ride,’ part of the international Women of Aviation Worldwide Week, March 4-10, and one of 18 events scheduled in Canada, Audebert figured she’d get a relaxing trip over South-West Oxford Township and Tillsonburg.
“It’s a beautiful day, kind of calm. I just thought you’d be in one of these,” she said, nodding toward two rows of ‘tamer’ planes. “You’d go out, look around. A neat little experience.
“My daughter is up in that type of plane too, with his son, and she’s doing loops as well apparently,” Audebert laughed. “So it’ll be interesting to hear her experience. I can’t wait.”
About five minutes later Michael Tryggvason and Cassandra Audebert landed in a Giles 202.
“It was… I don’t know, it was amazing!” said Cassandra. “It went so much faster (than large passenger planes)… it felt like it. We did the spins, the rolls, everything. It felt like butterflies in your stomach. It was just amazing.”
Cassandra felt no fear while they did the aerial maneuvers.
“No, not scared. Well, kinda scared when we first started… my heart started beating faster. But I wanted to do them. After, I thought, ‘well that wasn’t bad.’ The best part probably was when we were upside down. I saw it all.”
“I wasn’t terrified,” said her mother, Anne. “I was scared. I will admit I was scared, but no, I was not terrified. Bjarni’s a very good pilot…”
“Did you tell him how terrified you were?” Tryggvason asked, laughing.
“Terrified? No!” Anne protested.
“Actually, I found it a little bit harder when you started to decelerate than when we were actually in the rolls. Because when you’re in the rolls it’s very smooth.”
She got advance warning before they did each maneuver.
“He’d say ‘this is what we’re going to do,’ and just before he’d do it, he’d tell me,” adding with a smile, “and I would commence praying. You do what you gotta do.
“I wouldn’t have said no, though. You don’t get an experience like that every day.”
“We did a couple loops, rolls, and one quarter-clover,” said Tryggvason. “We went up like this, turned and came out at 90 degrees.”
“Yeah… that,” she said with a look of disbelief.
It was an amazing, unforgettable 20-25 minute flight, one she had difficulty describing.
“I don’t think I could describe it. I have no words. It was such an amazing… I don’t know, I can’t describe it. It was totally unforgettable. I can’t even tell you how grateful I am. That was amazing, just an amazing experience. This was like a once-in-a-lifetime experience to be in one of those planes.”
“Today we had about 53 or 54 women and girls,” said Annette Murray, airport administrator at the Tillsonburg Regional Airport on Airport Road in South-West Oxford, just north of Tillsonburg.
“The weather was excellent – it couldn’t have been any better. We had low visibility early in the morning, but it cleared up.”
Saturday’s local Women in Aviation event was organized by Canadian Owners and Pilots Association, Flight 181, with support from the Tillsonburg Regional Airport. The pilots donated their time and fuel. Sobeys Tillsonburg also supported the event donating food for the pilots and volunteers.
“Everything’s been smooth so far,” said Murray after the last group of girls and women had left the ground.
“It’s great to see the younger girls, and the smiles on their faces when they come out of the planes. And one of the pilots actually had a girl flying his plane for a bit – she was very interested in it, and that’s what we’re aiming for.
“There’s over 3,000 women across Canada today flying for the first time (in small planes) through the Women in Aviation Week.
“Kitchener has 603 women going up today. I don’t know how they’re going to do it because they only have 25 pilots.”
“Our pilot was a war veteran,” said Charlene Longlade of Ingersoll, a passenger with her daughter Megan. “Eleven thousand hours, he said, so he was well-experienced, that’s for sure.
“I liked the takeoff, it was nice. And the scenery and stuff, that was really neat. And it was actually quite comfortable.”
“I saw a lot of ponds, trees and stuff,” said Megan.
“You can tell you’re in Tillsonburg because they still have a lot of those old tobacco kilns,” said Charlene. “They’re all lined up – ‘yep, there’s Tillsonburg.’”
The Longlades flew over the Town of Tillsonburg, but didn’t recognize anyone.
“No,” Megan laughed.
“You okay?” pilot Harvey Roddick asked Megan on his way into the terminal.
“She was okay until we landed,” said Charlene. “We were both good until you had to turn and come back, then I think that was our turning point.”
“My ears popped,” noted Megan.
“She’s always wanted to fly – ever since she could talk,” said Charlene. “She’s always wanted to fly and now she got to do it. Apparently only six per cent of the pilots nowadays are women, so they’re trying to promote it. And I think they did.
“You’ll fly again, right Meg?”
“Maybe,” Megan smiled.