While Ashley Salm wants young girls to know they can grow up to be pilots, they’re not the ones most excited and surprised when they get on a plane and see that a woman is going to fly it.
“I get that reaction a lot from older women,” Salm, 30, said. “The little kids really just want to check out all the buttons and lights.”
Still, Salm and her peers with the Rose City Chapter of Women in Aviation are going to show young girls what it’s like to be a pilot at Girls in Aviation Day on Sept. 26 at the Pearson Field Aero Maintenance Flight Center in Vancouver.
Salm, who started flying while in high school in Illinois, is the co-founder of the local chapter of Women in Aviation, an international nonprofit that provides networking, education, mentoring and scholarship opportunities for women in aviation. She started it about a year and a half ago.
If You Go: Girls in Aviation Day
• What: Girls in Aviation Day, open to kids ages 8 to 16.
• When: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 26.
• Where: Pearson Field Aero Maintenance Flight Center, 101 East Reserve St., Vancouver.
• Cost: Free.
• Information: Guests are asked to preregister by emailing wairosecity@gmail.com or calling 360-735-9441.
Girls in Aviation Day began at the yearly Women in Aviation International Conference, and this year, the organization decided to spread it around to local chapters.
“The day isn’t just about being a pilot,” Salm said. “Pilots are the ones who are seen the most, especially because we have our uniforms. But there are engineers and air traffic controllers. We want to let people know about all parts of aviation. What does make an airplane go, how does a plane fly, how does it get from here to there?”
Girls in Aviation Day is open to kids ages 8 to 16, although Salm said a few kids as young as 6 have signed up. She added that Girls in Aviation Day and Women in Aviation are both open to boys and men, respectively.
The day will feature a scavenger hunt in hangars, the chance for kids to use a flight simulator, craft tables, face painting and pizza. A few plane owners are volunteering, so kids will get the chance to sit in a plane, as well. The group also will visit Pearson Air Museum. Volunteers from the Rose City Chapter of Women in Aviation will be on hand to talk about aviation as a career or hobby.
One Women in Aviation member who will be there is Theresa Nelson, 35, of Vancouver, who is director of flight operations at the maintenance center and got her pilot’s license as a teenager.
“It just seemed to me to be a huge freedom,” she said. “You get your driver’s license, and what’s the next cool thing to do? Get your pilot’s license.”
Nelson’s father was a pilot, and she grew up watching him fly. He used to borrow planes from his students to take the family on vacations. She thinks there are a lot of benefits to showing kids about aviation at an early age.
“I talk to a lot of pilots who started flight training in their 40s, and all of them say they wish they got started earlier,” she said. “Many people aren’t exposed to this industry. Pearson Airfield is a great asset to the community. Our main objective is for kids to come and have fun, and learn about aviation. It starts at a small airport like this, not a big one.”
Salm, a pilot with GoJet Airlines, said flying isn’t something the everyday person pursues, or even knows is something they can pursue.
“It’s nice having an office that doesn’t stay put,” she said. “It’s a new view every day, but people don’t know it’s out there.”
She’s also looking for more members for the local chapter of Women in Aviation. Salm said there are about 20 members, mostly pilots, but the group is open to anyone interested in aviation, whether professionally or as a hobby.
“It’s a field where you’re constantly learning, since technology changes so much,” she said.
“It’s something different all the time. It doesn’t get boring.”
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