The award-winning and highly successful The Sky’s No Limit – Girls Fly Too! event is on at the Abbotsford International Airport this weekend.
Langley plane and helicopter pilot Kirsten Brazier created this outreach two-day event in 2012 to encourage more females to think of a career in aviation and aerospace.
On March 7 and 8, more than 10,000 females of all ages are expected to gather at the Abbotsford Airport to take in free flights, hands on aerospace activities, and civilian and non-civilian pilots will be on hand with aircraft to explore.
One of the attractions of the event is the free flights for female first-time fliers with advance registration at www.girlsfly2.ca. On March 7, astronaut Wendy Lawrence, veteran of four missions to space, will be at the event to meet the participants and answer questions about her experiences.
The entire event is free.
The annual event honours Women of Aviation Worldwide Week and International Women's Day, which is on March 8.
Out of 24,505 professional pilots in Canada, only 1,356 of them are women.
Out of 19,601 aircraft engineers, only 560 of them are women. Less than three per cent of the technical positions in the Royal Canadian Air Force, such as pilot or maintenance technician, are held by women.
The event runs Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
- with files from Monica Tamminga