Photo above by Madison Connor.
For the 12th straight year, the opportunity for women who love aviation to build camaraderie and open doors to mentorship and participation comes to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2019, as EAA WomenVenture activities will take place during the week.
The 67th annual Experimental Aircraft Association fly-in convention will be held July 22-28 at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. EAA WomenVenture is presented by The Boeing Company, with additional support from Endeavor Air, Ford Motor Company, GE Aviation, General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), Glasair Aviation, L3 Commercial Aviation, Ninety-Nines Inc., The Outlet Shoppes at Oshkosh, United Airlines, and Women in Aviation International.
Since 2008, EAA WomenVenture has offered the opportunity to bring together female aviators from throughout the flying community. The activities are designed to encourage participation by women in aviation, as only 6 percent of all pilots in the U.S. are female.
“EAA WomenVenture is a tremendous experience for women, particularly as it comes during the World’s Greatest Aviation Celebration at Oshkosh,” said Tara Parkhurst, a pilot and EAA museum educator, who is leading the organization of this year’s activities. “These activities can be a springboard to motivate other women to get involved in aviation, either for fun or as a future career, as we’ll present activities that motivate, inform, and inspire.”
The schedule includes:
· Monday, July 22, 5:30 p.m. – The EAA WomenVenture social, presented by Endeavor Air. This kickoff to the 12th annual WomenVenture schedule invites all women to meet and connect in a fun atmosphere of an ice cream social. Preregistration online at EAA.org/WomenVenture is required.
· Wednesday, July 24, 11 a.m. – Annual EAA WomenVenture group photo on AirVenture’s showcase Boeing Plaza.
· Wednesday, July 24, 11:30 a.m. – The EAA WomenVenture Power Lunch at Theater in the Woods. Tickets are $5 each and preregistration for this lunch is required at EAA.org/WomenVenture. This year’s speaker is U.S. Air Force Col. Kim Campbell, a decorated A-10 combat pilot who earned a Distinguished Flying Cross after flying an A-10 damaged by anti-aircraft fire during aerial combat over Iraq. She became one of the few pilots ever to fly the A-10 in manual mode.
· Wednesday, July 24, 7 p.m. – EAA WomenVenture evening program at Theater in the Woods. Participants to be announced as they are confirmed.
As in past years, a limited-edition EAA WomenVenture T-shirt is available to all women who participate (while supplies last). Those T-shirts must be reserved in advance via the EAA WomenVenture website and may be picked up at the AirVenture Welcome Center beginning Monday, July 22. The printed T-shirt registration or confirmation of T-shirt registration on a mobile device must be shown when picking up the T-shirt. Women are encouraged to wear the T-shirt for the July 24 group photos to show the collective strength of women in the aviation community.
In addition, women are invited to the Welcome Center to sign the EAA WomenVenture logbook any day during EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2019.
