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Pyper Legge, foreground, seen here with pilot Kirsten Brazier at Trinity Helicopters Wednesday, will be receiving a free helicopter ride March 10 when the Sky's No Limit - Girls Fly Too! takes over the Yellowknife Airport. - Kevin Allerston/NNSL photo

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
There will be some busy skies over the Yellowknife Airport March 10 as a plan takes flight to put 500 young women into helicopters as an encouragement to take up careers in aviation.

Yellowknife helicopter pilot Kirsten Brazier, organizer of Sky's No Limit - Girls Fly Too!, aims to have 500 girls ages eight to 19 fly the skies above Yellowknife for free with four to six helicopter pilots, including herself.

"The purpose of the helicopter ride is to grab their attention and get them there, once there, there is an actual event, which is also free, and basically we will have a static display on one of the taxi ways near where our hangar is where there will be a bunch of aircraft," said Brazier, who flies for the Yellowknife-based company Trinity Helicopters.

"We are trying to change perceptions and let people know that 'hey, women do do these jobs and that there's career options available.'"

The event is part of a larger, international celebration of more than 100 years of women in aviation, called Women of Aviation Worldwide Week. If they are able to get 500 girls into the air, Brazier is hopeful Yellowknife's airport will win the Fly It Forward Challenge and be dubbed the most female-pilot-friendly airport worldwide. About 100 girls have signed up so far, said Brazier.

Only about four per cent of helicopter pilots with a commercial helicopter pilot licence are women, says Brazier, and she would like to see that percentage grow.

She said she would like to see girls attend Sky's No Limit with their families so all can realize the opportunities awaiting them. A number of women who work in the aviation industry will be on hand to talk to the girls about the industry, including Tracy Medve, president of Canadian North.

"The idea is to try and get access to as many of the young women as possible who will be there that day and give them an opportunity for a dialogue ... about what the perceptions are of the industry and whether those are realistic," said Medve.

She said whether it is an office job doing accounting, helping prepare aircraft for flight or piloting them, there are many opportunities for women in the industry.

"I think that a lot of women don't necessarily consider the aviation industry first, particularly in non-traditional jobs, like other than, you know, in-flight and maybe as a customer service agent," said Medve.

One person who is RSVP'd for a helicopter ride is 12-year-old Pyper Legge. When she heard she would have the chance for a free helicopter ride, she knew she had to sign up.

"I've only been on one helicopter ride in my whole life and I think they are really cool, how they don't use wings like a plane, they have the propellers. They're really cool," said Legge.

"I'm really excited. I'm telling all my friends, hoping they will come too," she said.

Brazier said she plans on having food on hand at the event, the only non-free aspect of the festivities, with all proceeds going to a yet-to-be- determined scholarship program that would help women get into aviation.

She said she is working with the Yellowknife airport and NAV Canada - a Canadian agency that regulates airports - to ensure everyone is kept safe.

The event is scheduled to run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with three 10 minute routes around Yellowknife. Brazier said help from anybody who wants to volunteer is welcome.

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