In March, the fourth annual Women Of Aviation Worldwide Week (WOAW) took place, with the theme ‘Pushing the limits: 100 years of female aerobatic pilots and 50 years of women flying solo around the world’. Aviation headset manufacturer Sennheiser participated as a key partner of the event through its Live Your Dream program, which encourages people of all genders and backgrounds to pursue their interests in aviation.
WOAW continues to inspire the imagination and ambition of girls and women all over the world who are interested in aviation, and the event‘s overall popularity continues to grow as evidenced by its impressive Facebook reach: over 465,000 people between March 3 and March 9. (At right – CarolAnn Garratt, one of only three women to have flown around the world three times in a small aircraft, dons her Sennheiser S1 Digital headset – Photo credit: Paul Baraka)
In addition to maintaining its Executive Level partnership with iWOAW, Sennheiser also supported this year’s international events by awarding $1,500 for flight training to the winner of the 2014 WOAW’s First-to-Solo Challenge. The award is presented to the first girl or woman among the thousands who embarked on an eligible commercial or free discovery flight during WOAW that completes her solo flight.
In keeping with this year’s WOAW theme, female pilots had a chance to meet with aerobatic pilots, aerobatic team owners, wing walkers, test pilots, engineers, aircraft mechanics, aircraft builders, and women who have flown around the world. In Lachute in Québec, panellists included Geraldine ‘Jerrie’ Mock, the first woman to fly solo in a small aircraft around the world in 1964; CarolAnn Garratt, one of only three women to have flown around the world three times in a small aircraft; Melissa Pemberton and Jacquie Warda, aerobatic pilots; Carole Pilon, test pilot; Jana McWorther, wing walker; and Carol Pilon, the sole Canadian wing walker and only female aerobatic team owner.
“We are proud to be a premier sponsor of Women Of Aviation Worldwide Week and believe this event plays an important role in inspiring female pilots all over the world,” commented David Dunlap, Director, Sennheiser Aviation. “Education is the key ingredient that helps make dreams of flight become a reality. Through our partnership with the Institute for Women of Aviation Worldwide and our own Live Your Dream program, we are proud to bring one aspiring female pilot one step closer to achieving such a distinguished goal.”
Women Of Aviation Worldwide Week aims to foster gender balance in aviation by celebrating history, raising awareness, and sparking vocations as girls and women are introduced to aviation during female-centric events offering aviation-related activities and/or discovery flights in small aircraft.
Sennheiser’s Live Your Dream program encourages and assists aspiring pilots to pursue their dreams of flight through awareness programs and training assistance. For more information about the program, please visit www.sennheiser-liveyourdream.com.
