Maryland Newsline

Women Get Chance in Frederick to Take to the Skies for Free

By Alexander Pyles
Maryland Newsline
Thursday, March 10, 2011

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Victoria Neuville was 16 when she flew a plane for the first time, enrolling in ground school in her native Michigan and then taking to the skies in a Cessna 172.

"You never forget your first plane," the Frederick resident said.

Now 26, the private pilot hopes to give more than 200 women their first plane memory on Saturday -- possibly pushing them toward getting a pilot's license themselves. Only about 6 percent of pilots in the United States are women.

Neuville is hosting a free flying event Saturday at Frederick Municipal Airport in Frederick, Md. – part of a global grassroots movement to get more women involved in flying. From 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., any woman who has never flown in a noncommercial plane can attend Neuville's Women Fly it Forward and receive a free ride from one of an assembled squadron of licensed pilots.

Neuville said Thursday she already had more than 200 registrants, enticed through "word of mouth, people telling their friends."

 

The price doesn't hurt, she said. "You can never do anything at the airport for free."

 

Saturday's competition is being sponsored by Centennial of Women Pilots, an organization that formed last year to introduce more women to flying in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the first licensed female pilot, Raymonde de Laroche, in 1910.

 

Tuesday marked the 101st anniversary.

"The goal of this is to get them to take their first flight," Neuville said, hopefully instilling in the riders a love of flying that leads to more women earning private pilots' licenses. "I feel like if a guy and a girl can do the same thing just as well, I don't know why there's less women."

The 1st Helicopter Squadron from Andrews Air Force Base will be in Frederick Saturday, as well as an airline pilot and air traffic control specialist.

Neuville has also arranged for 25 private pilots to give women their first flight Saturday, including one helicopter pilot. She said 20-minute flights for first-timers will take off every 30 minutes.

Lin Caywood, 47, plans to pilot some of those flights. Caywood, like Neuville, is a member of the Ninety-Nines, an international organization for women pilots that claims Amelia Earhart – the first female pilot to fly solo over the Atlantic Ocean - as its first president. Caywood has held a private pilot's license for seven years, she said.

The Frederick chapter of the Ninety-Nines has 14 members. Several members of the organization are participating in some way.

 

For Caywood, it was a no-brainer for her and her Cessna 182 to fly Saturday.

"Our mission is to really promote fellowship to flight and networking for women pilots, and provide scholarships and really support and preserve the history of women in aviation," Caywood said. "This event is near and dear."

The airport's Experimental Aircraft Association education center will also be open, where mechanics will explain the parts of a plane and pilots' pre-flight checklist.

Jon Harden, 55, is another pilot who will be flying Saturday. His company, Aviation Insurance Resources, is helping sponsor the event, he said. Neuville is a sales assistant for the insurance company.

Harden says he's looking forward to the event, and may even give some of his passengers an informal flying lesson.

"I love taking new people up, because it's pretty cool to see the ones that do get excited about it," Harden said. "If they have an interest, we'll let them take control."