
Two small airplanes stood inside a hangar at Dane County Regional Airport, surrounded by young girls eager to get the chance to sit behind the controls Saturday for Madison’s first Girls in Aviation event, which aims to promote interest in aviation careers among girls.
The Four Lakes Chapter of Women in Aviation International hosted the event at Wisconsin Aviation at the airport, where about 40 girls, ages 8 to 11, learned about aeronautics, charted maps and moved a plane’s rudder and flaps as they sat in the cockpit.
The Four Lakes Chapter was founded last year, and Saturday was the first time a Girls in Aviation Day was held in Madison. Other chapters around the world held similar events Saturday to introduce girls to aviation careers and to support girls who may be interested in the field.
“One of the reasons that number is so low is because girls don’t have role models” who work in aviation, chapter president Sarah Pozdell said.
Not only that, but some girls are discouraged from becoming pilots. Podzell said that when she was a teen, she had been told, “Girls don’t fly planes.” It wasn’t until she was in her 40s that she started taking flying lessons.
The event wasn’t just about piloting airplanes though. The girls also learned about other jobs relating to aviation, including air traffic control, which 9-year-old Ellie Kramarz said she found most interesting.
“You could see all the different planes and where they’re coming from,” Ellie said.
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